The Pastor's Weblog

A PLEA FOR GRACE

2011-09-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

A PLEA FOR GRACE
One of the great truths of this life is that we can only really see the world through own eyes and by the contours of our own experience. It is as though we all scuttle through existence living in the one celled prison of our own viewpoint and experience. The difficult thing in all this is the quick and easy assumption that what we see, feel, or believe must absolutely be what someone sees, feels or believes. How often I have heard someone proclaim a doctrine or an ideology as an inalterable truth. How often have I sat among a gaggle of people where judgment is rolled out like a carpet and then thrown on top of a community or a person. And, when our myopic worldview is mingled with anger or resentment, or worse - self-righteousness, it's time for those around us to duck or get out of the way.
The unfortunate result of this is that there is a great deal of resentment, anger and judgment out there. A lot of it is based on this assumption that we actually know something, when all we really know is what we ourselves think or see. I'm reminded of the time when I was canvassing my community about how we might change or do something different. One person came into my office, sat down and said, "I'm going to tell you what I think because if I think it, then everyone else must think it also....." I remember this because I was so taken aback that I quickly wrote down the quote as the person was saying it.
We all come from different perspectives and are taught by different experiences. We all feel the light of the sun and wetness of the rain, it's true. But we all experience it differently.
This is why grace is so important. Grace is love that is unearned and even at times undeserved. Grace is the eloquent and holy acknowledgement that everyone needs to be cut some slack. We extend grace to someone who screws up badly. We offer grace to someone with whom we disagree. We receive grace when someone smiles in the face of a terrible mistake and shrugs. And grace comes, too, when we have done our worst. Here, grace gets called forgiveness.
So, because we don't see through someone else's eyes, maybe we can cut them a little slack now and then. Because we don't carry with us the catalogue of another person's experiences, perhaps we back off and give folks a little space.....a little grace.
It's not only a good idea for us to offer this grace to others. If we're honest, we will admit that need grace ourselves. Who, after all, doesn't need to be cut some slack once in a while? Who doesn't need love....especially when they don't deserve it.
It's my own belief that God loves us this way. I also believe that God dares us to give it a try ourselves. Grace. Unearned, undeserved, unlimited love. It's the thing that just might pull us through. sr

2010-12-10T16:14:00.001-08:00

Well, I am officially upset. I mean, I've been opposed to it; I've been nominally against it; I've even gotten myself arrested a couple of times in demonstrations that take a stand saying it's wrong. But now I am upset. Actually, I'm more than upset. I'm ticked off. I'm angry.

Sitting at table with community members the other night, we learned that four of the nine folk sitting there were unemployed. I hurt for them as they struggle, not only with finding work, but with all the accompanying feelings that come when you lose your job. It is not, to say the least, a pleasant And my prayers and thoughts are with them and with all the people whose jobs have evaporated in this economic morass we call a "recession."

But there's the thing.

This recession drags painfully on while we prosecute two wars on the other side of the world. And if wikileaks is to be believed, we're actually engaged in far more than that! Add to that the Pentagon budget of something over 500 billion dollars a year - and remember - the amount for the Pentagon in the federal budget does NOT inlcude our current wars! But consider this. There's a huge chunk of change going to kill people. It amounts to nearly sixty cents of every tax dollar.

And then, dear sisters and brothers, consider this. A dollar spent in the domestic economy goes something like thirty times further than it does when it's spent on the military.

Not only are these wars morally repugnant, wrong, and otherwise misguided. They are also strangling our economy as we go ever deeper into debt (mostly to China) to pay for them while our friends, neighbors, sisters, brothers, fellow church members are losing their means of supporting themselves and their families.

It's time to bring the boys and the girls home from Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else they causing death and mayhem. It's time to cut the federal military budget in half, and it's long past time we began to invest in the things that create jobs and community.

So, I'm just sayin.' But the truth is that I'm really upset

SR

2010-11-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving. Well, actually it's a few days after Thanksgiving. At this point in time many of us are sliding into the Christmas season with vague memories of Turkey, family, long naps, and leftovers fading quickly from view.

I know I'm already gearing up for the season ahead with just a quick glimpse over my shoulder...an appreciative glimpse to be sure...but nonetheless a fleeting glimpse at several days of precious time with my family. It was wonderful. Simple, unhurried time. Stacking wood at the cabin, cooking time honored family recipes and going for long walks in the woods; all of it is a gift so welcome.

With friends out of work, people losing homes, and tough times everywhere I feel a little foolish lifting all this up just now. I think to myself that people don't want to hear about my thankfulness. And yet, maybe this is precisely the time to stop and be grateful.

No matter what's going on for us, there is cause for gratefulness. Those of us struggling with unemployment may pause to receive some well earned love and support. Grateful. Some of us wrestling with our own issues of worthiness and self-esteem may stop to take note of the fact that "God don't make junk," and there is talent, heart, soul and wonder buried beneath the folds of depression. Some folks are dealing with ruptured relationships this Thanksgiving. 'Hard to be grateful in the face of abandonment or betrayal, and yet....and yet....there is a whisper of healing in the wind. A relationship may be in ruins and life might seem beyond difficult. But love still presides over this life. Love of children, friends and family; love of community and love - yes - of God. Grateful.

No matter what our current location in life, everyone of us would benefit - and in turn those around us would benefit if we could all adopt what some slick preacher once called "an attitude of gratitude." Well, let's skip the inane rhyme and pause together to reflect with a grateful hearts.

For life, for love, for simple moments of sharing, for laughter and silliness, for bad jokes and for inspired sonnets, let us open our hearts in grateful thanksgiving.

Tomorrow, as we begin this Christmas season - getting ready for the Christ Child - let's do so with hearts renewed and fueled with prayers and shouts of Thanksgiving.

For as the old hymn says..."whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well...it is well with my soul." Indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and welcome to this blessed Christmas-time, as we await the powerful possibilities that come with new life.

Peace,
SR

2010-05-21T11:44:00.001-07:00

PENTECOST MUSINGS...

Well, it's just a few days away from Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost. I love it.

It's a day of joy and celebration; a time of unleashed power that is beyond our ability to control. This day celebrates the coming of God's Spirit upon the Christian community and it's truly marvelous.

But mark this. It's not a one time thing. We don't read Scripture and get down in the dust with the scholars to imagine what it must have been like way back when. No. Pentecost is current. It's contemporary. It's now.

The Holy Spirit is fire up and getting ready to roar into our Church this Sunday. This Spirit won't just come politely in the door. It's a mighty, rushing wind that will knock over the flowers, blow down all the carefully placed altar decorations, and disturb our neatly ordered status quo.

Get ready friends. God's Spirit is coming, and it does not heed our sense of order or propriety. The Holy Spirit is roiling around us, and it's not concerned with our religiosity.

I love Pentecost because it shakes us up....or at least it should. I also love Pentecost because
it's the one Christian celebration that Hallmark and the consumer gift industry hasn't gotten hold of yet. No last minute Pentecost gift shopping here. No carefully lettered Pentecost cards, and no media created images of the Spirit draped over displays at Macy's or Target.

We still own this holiday, sisters and brothers!

So let's get ready.
Get your praise on come to worship.
Get your Spirit prepared to be tossed and tumbled.

God's Spirit is coming....can you feel it?

Are we ready for where the Spirit might lead?
Can we release our perceptions and our tightly held agendas?
Can we step out of the tyranny of our own desires?

I think we can.
I know we can.

And I look forward to the fire coming; I look forward to that rushing wind.
I look forward to the joy of being with you all in worship on Pentecost Sunday!

See you there! And don't forget to bring thirty-two of your closest friends.

In Christ,
Pastor Schuyler

2010-05-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

RAISING THE BAR

For years many churches lowered the bar of expectations for their members. “Oh don’t worry. You won’t have to do much! Just join the church and show up once in a while!” “It’s OK. You don’t have to make a pledge. We just want you to be with us.” “Really, there’s not much to it. Just serve on a committee and you’ll be fine.” You’ve heard this, or something like it before, haven’t you? In some cases this was done out of a genuine desire to be welcoming and to take down barriers that might repulse or keep people away. In other cases it was done out of a sense of quiet desperation as numbers dwindled gradually over the last fifty years. “We don’t care what you do! Just come to Church!”

Well, of course, we do care. In fact, we care a great deal. Whatever the reason for this tyranny of lowered expectations, the truth is that we have ended up with a situation where we simply don’t ask much of people. It's almost like we don't want to inconvenience anyone with the process of practicing their faith.

We follow a Savior who went to the cross for us. What is it that we do beyond showing up on Sundays and maybe staffing a church committee. No. We really don’t ask a whole lot of our community. We claim to live out a Gospel that is rooted in self-giving love and self-sacrifice, but how much of ourselves do we really give? What do we sacrifice for the sake of others?

No. This isn’t a guilt trip. Really.

I am not trying to go there. But I do want to re-examine our Christian commitment. I do want raise the bar a bit and articulate some expectations about what it means to be a practicing Christian in this community of Christians.

For starters, maybe we could suggest that a practicing Christian gets involved with practicing the spiritual disciplines. How often do you pray? Do you pray every day? Do you spend time with the Bible every day? Do you give time to serving the poor every day? Is there a group of people with whom you share your faith? If so, will this group hold you lovingly accountable for living out this faith we share? Would you give an hour a week to a group like that?

At Temple UMC we are beginning the process of establishing Covenant Groups. The purpose of these groups is to provide support and mutual accountability for people who want to raise the bar. We begin training leaders for these groups in June, and we look forward to seeing groups emerge this fall.

A Covenant group writes a faith covenant together. Then they meet weekly for an hour to support one another in keeping that covenant. A typical covenant might go something like this.

1) I will attend worship every week.

2) I will spend thirty minutes in prayer every day.

3) I will participate in studying Holy Scripture on a regular basis.

4) I will give a minimum of three hours a week to serving the poor.

5) I will tithe (that means give 10% of your earnings) to my Church.

6) I will not remain silent in the face of injustice.

7) I will cease all complaining.

Maybe these seven things would be something to start with as we approach these summer months? Perhaps there's someone in the faith community with whom you could have coffee and see how you're doing with keeping these seven items going in your life. What parts are difficult? What things are rewarding? How does this covenant take you deeper in faith?

Then this fall when the Covenant groups start meeting you'll be practiced and ready!

I'm always happy to bounce these things around with you and hear your input and ideas! Toss me an email if you like. pastor@tumcpeace.org.

2010-05-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
I am sitting down to write this morning because I reached a tipping point. Yesterday I heard, again, that someone was "spiritual," but not "religious." The same person went on in stunning predictability to say that they didn't like "organized religion."

Now I know that it's possible to ride this horse one too many times. So, those of you who have heard this rant before will find me asking for grace and forgiveness. But really, friends. Let's clear the air here. Rote ramblings like this don't come from people who are intentionally spiritual. They come from slackers who like the idea of spirituality, but are too lazy to actually practice a spiritual discipline.

And not liking "organized religion?" What's that mean? Clearly the person who says this has no experience with so called "organized religion." Go to any meeting at any level of the United Methodist Church and you'll learn quickly.....we're not all that organized. Would that it were so!

If someone makes a conscious choice to be without a specific faith, that's fine with me. I think they're losing out in the long run, but hey, I'm good with it. But we need to be up front with the truth that it's not possible to be vaguely spiritual.

Spirituality requires discipline. It needs a particular practice and form to take shape. Now this can be Ignatian spirituality or Franciscan Spirituality. It can be Zen or Zoarastrian, but it can't be simply......spiritual.

It's like being musical. Everyone has music within them. But unless you pick up an instrument and practice, your musicality.....and $3.50 will get you a Mochachino at Starbucks.

So to all of you who trumpet your spirituality without the discipline of practice or the focus of intention, I say this. Pick something. Anything. Choose Greek Orthodoxy or Quaker Spirituality. Select Kabalistic Judaism or Trappist silence. I might even be so immodest as to suggest Wesleyan spirituality, but for God's sake, choose something.

Let your spirituality be authentic and focused. Let it be at the center of your being rather than an item on some life buffet.

Or, if you prefer, have the courage to live out of touch with Spirit and faith, and do THAT with intention.

OK. I'll stop now.

This posting, by the way, represents my own intentional return to the blogosphere. My hope is to post something here every week - or possibly more often.

Looking forward to connecting, to sharing, and to daring great things with you all.

SR

2009-02-15T15:41:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a week of continuing education where I was treated to a huge variety of lectures, sermons, and workshops. It was a great time for new ideas and renewal, and I can't thank my Church community enough for making this possible.

One of the people who spoke was Brian McLaren. This author/pastor had a wonderful, gentle way about him and I was moved by the many things he had to share. I highly recommend his books and encourage you to google him after you finish this posting!

As I write this afternoon, one of the things he said to us comes into my mind. That is, that Buddhism has never been seen as a religion, but rather as a way of life. Christianity, on the other hand is seen by most as a system of belief.

McLaren called on the clergy gathered at this workshop to turn away from the "system" that we have created and to work on returning our churches to communities who practice Christianity as a way of life. Indeed, the early church called itself, "The Way."

What a wonderful idea. What would it look like if we were able to shed the straight jacket of our belief system and embrace the way of Jesus Christ together? How might our churches be different if we stressed faithful community rather than doctrine and process?

Indeed, it's something to consider.

The theme we will be following during the coming Lenten season is, "Contemplating Our Call." As we worship, pray and prepare together, perhaps we could contemplate our call as a church. What would need to change for us to adopt Christianity as a total way of life? How might we go about this?

Could God be calling us to abandon the system of belief we call Chrsistianity? Could God be calling us to embrace the way of life that Christ came to show us?

What do you think?

Well, it's time for me to close up the laptop and head home.

Until next time, I remain yours in the "The Way."

Pastor Schuyler

2008-12-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a long while since I posted on this blog. I'd like to say how busy I've been, and that's true. I'd like to tell you that the many projects I've got going on have shoved blogging to the rear buner, and that also is true. It would be nice to say that family and friendships have taken my time and the blog has just sat unblogged as I have worked at being husband and dad. And yes, this too is a fact.

In the midst of all this truth telling there is one more true thing that I must summon up the courage to say. And that is that I forgot my password and was too lazy to go through the broo haha to get it back. So, I let all those other true things take over. I was too busy. I didn't have to worry about it. But then, this evening the password just popped into my head and here we are - blogging again.

Isn't it funny how a whole slew of true things can hide truth itself?

Sure, I have been busy, but really, who isn't busy these days? Everyone I know is caught up in the long distance sprint of life and can't seem to slow down long enough to return a phone call, much less maintain a blog. But somehow they manage. And frankly, even if they don't manage that's fine. It would just be good if we could somehow be lovingly truthful with ourselves and others.

I wonder what things are hid in the forest of true things that inhabit our lives? How do we conveniently arrange our reality so that we can justify certain things we do or thing we leave undone.

There's the Mom or Dad who are too too busy with work to spend much "quality" time with their child. Busy yes, insecure about parenting ability? Also a resounding yes, but hid conveniently in a true thing.

There's a woman who gets too busy to stay in contact with her friend. Oh yes. It's the busy thing again, and yes, again it's true. But also true is a wound from an old betrayal that has not healed. So, busy? Yes. Still hurting and using a busy life to avoid? Absolutely.

There's a guy who has been beset by a series of bad luck events. Things just seem to happen to this guy. Things get stolen. Business goes belly up. He has a host of health concerns. His kids don't much like him. Indeed. A lot of people don't much like this guy. The world is against him. He's a victim. Just ask him.

Looking at this from one vantage point it certainly seems true, especially to hear him tell it. But then we learn about an abusive childhood and about the deep, deep anger locked inside that keeps seeping out on everyone and everything in his life.

The truth is that these bad things really do happen. Also true is the reality of how toxic his anger is to the people and processes in his life. Also true is that he has become a self-sabateur and is an active player in his own spiral of failure.

As these stories spin out it dawns on me that most of us hide truth with true things. Some, of course, do it more grievously than others. Nonetheless, we all do it. Me included.

Is it possible to approach life telling one truth at a time? Is it feasible to at least tell ourselves the truth so that as we arrange the true things we're clear - at least in the mirror - about what turh we're hiding and why?

I guess the answer is "yes." Of course it's possible. We just need to make self-awareness (as opposed to self involvement) a priority. We need to be honest with ourselves about our agendas and issues. We need to speak truth to the mirror about why we do things.

And finally, at some quiet moment, mentioning that truth to God is probably a good idea.

Bye for now.
SR

2006-05-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

"I WAS A STRANGER....AND YOU DID NOT WELCOME ME..." Matthew 25:43

Each time I pick up a newspaper or turn on my television, I hear the cry for "immigration reform." The voices are shrill and the things they call for are shocking, not only in the specifics, but because they are nothing more than thinly veiled racism marching to the drumbeat of fear.

From vigilantes gearing up to patrol the borders to troops being sent to repell the aliens, to the proposal to build a fence to keep "them" out, it all adds up to a racist rattling of old bones in a closet whose door we somehow cannot keep shut.

As a Christian I find it interesting that the ones screaming the loudest for this so called reform name themselves as Christian as well. To my sisters and brothers in Christ, I would suggest a modest study of Scriptures. Deuteronomy 10:19 directs us to "love the stranger, for you yourselves were once strangers." Exodus 22:21 tells us we may not "wrong or oppress a resident alien." More over, it states that we "know the heart of an alien" because were were once aliens oursleves. In Leviticus 19:34 we are told that "the alien who resides with you shalll be to you as a citizen among you. You sall love the alien as yourself...." Jesus gets into the act also in Matthew 25 as he sorts out the sheep from the goats. If you don't receive the stranger, he tell us rather bluntly, you don't receive him.

And this, friends, only dents the biblical witness calling us to welcome the alien, the stranger, the immigrant among us. For we ourselves were once as they are now. Given the ugly history of our nation's founding, I find it unfathomable that we could resort to such behavior. Like the Israelites coming over into Canan's land, the Europeans flooded into this continent in a genocidal frenzy, wiping out natives who, at first, welcomed them with open arms. As a nation of immigrants, how can we begin to imagine all of this?

But if, as I suspect, the faith in God that these people spout is all talk and no action, let's get down to captialist brass tacks. The bottom line, after all, is the bottom line. If all of the allegedly illegal workers were deported, the economies of all the border states would, quite simply, collapse. The stark truth is that we depend upon these people to be willing to accept wages we would never consider to do work we will not undertake. The food we eat is picked by the hands of these people. The dishes we eat off at our restaurants are washed by these people. Floors are mopped, toilets are cleaned, and literally thousands of menial tasks are performed by people that are blithely labelled as "illegal."

Now if we cannot be motivated to welcome those among us by our faith and it's Scriptures. If we cannot be awakened by our own economic interests to the fact that these people are needed, then I come to offer a true solution to the situation.

If we really wish to stop the flood of immigration from the Americas to the south of us there is a way. And it isn't about militarizing borders or deporting "illegals." If we really wish to halt this "invasion," as I have heard it called, we simply need to do one thing.

The United States of America must embark on an economic development program in Mexico, and Central America, pledging to spend, say, a few hundred billion dollars to help the economies of these countries develop. Rather than manipulating governments and trading to keep other nations poor so that we can raid their natural resources, we should be using our wealth to develop them into viable trading partners. If we did this, the immigration would cease. If we made it our aim to develop these countries as true equals in the market based economy, then our economy would benefit as well. If we focused on development so that Central American and Mexican workers had jobs and their families had enough to eat, they would have no reason to come here.

Do we think that they love our country more than their own? Are we arrogant enough to believe that people risk life and limb, leave their families because they WANT to come to the United States? No. They would all rather stay home.

It's the poverty, stupid!

If we stopped greedily holding on to the wealth that even now is slipping away from us, and learned how to walk with other nations and cultures as partners, things would change.
If we abandoned the mantle of empire and stopped spending our money on the guns and tanks and bombs we need to protect our wealth, and instead used those resources to feed and house everyone, we would not even be having this immigration discussion.

So, maybe these shrill, racist voices have a point. Let's halt all this illegal immigration. Let's lobby congress for a new deal in the Americas. Let's launch the "Equal Partner Initiative" and make friends around the world instead of enemies. Instead of building a fence across the border, let's build schools everywhere. Instead of posting troops at the border, let's send doctors. Rather than hording what we have, let's act like mature kids in this sand box, and share.

If we can do this here in our own corner of the world, perhaps we might learn to apply it elsewhere. Imagine what the world might look like if we set out on global partnership initiative! Instead of spending ourselves into debt and death fighting over oil resources that will be gone in a few decades anyway, why don't we bank roll develpoment and research for clean, renewable energy resources that could power our planet into the 22nd century?

Ah but I hear the voices now. "Be realistic. You can't do that. You've got to live in the real world!" Well, to me, thousand mile fences and an oppressed labor force aren't realistic, they are criminal. So there you have it.

Check out the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Study a little economics. Stop being greedy. There is a different way.

'Catch you in a little while,.
Pastor Schuyler Rhodes

2005-11-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
As a United Methodist clergyperson, I was shocked and ashamed to learn that the Judicial Council of our denomination upheld the actions of one of our pastors in the Virginia Annual Conference. This action was the witholding of church membership from a man because of his sexual orientation. This same Council also defrocked one of our elders because of her sexual orientation. It is enough. No more.

The Church of Jesus Christ is not a club in which membership is held at bay for a host of bigoted reasons. It is the radically open community of love.

As pastor of Temple United Methodist Church, I will do all in my power to be certain that all people are welcome and that all people have access to the sacraments, services and fullness of life within our church.

The following letter is a modest attempt to apologize to the man who was denied membership. If you know of any pastors or churches interested in signing this, just have them email me at pastor@templeumc.org with their name, church, city and state.

AN OPEN LETTER TO A BROTHER IN CHRIST
WHO WAS DENIED MEMBERSHIP IN A LOCAL CHURCH
IN THE VIRGINIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE BECAUSE OF HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Dear Friend in Christ,
We the undersigned United Methodist Pastors have learned with sorrow and shame that you were denied membership in one of the congregations within our great connection. Coming to the gates of a Christian community, only to find them locked because of someone else's prejudice must be a painful experience. On behalf the larger Christian community we wish to apologize to you.
Moreover, we wish to let you know that each pastor and each church mentioned below offers you the hand of friendship and connection in the name of Jesus Christ.
We don't know who you are, but we know that you are a beloved child of God. We don't know where you come from, but we know that we are all citizens in the household of faith. We don't know about your past, but we do know that when you enter the Christian community you possess a future of hope and new beginnings. In fact, we know nothing about you. But we do know that Christ died and rose so that the dividing walls between us might come down and that we might be one in the love of Christ.
So, over the narrow chatter of the law courts and the Pharisees of our denomination, we wish to extend to you the hand of welcome. Across the chasm of bigotry and narrowness within our own United Methodist community, we reach out to you with the love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
The Churches we serve wish to invite you into membership with us. We will welcome you and treasure you. We will embrace you and challenge you. We will nourish you and call you into service. And we will walk with you through the struggles that life brings.
We know the rejection you suffered cannot be erased. And again, as ones who are sister and brother clergy to the one who denied you, we ask for your forgiveness. Our hope is that this welcome will contribute in some small way to your healing. And we hope, too, to be able to welcome you in worship in one or all of our churches in the near future.

Keeping you in prayer and celebrating your faith, we are yours

In the peace of the Risen Christ,

Pastor Elizabeth Brick, St. Andrews United Methodist Church, Sacramento, CA
Pastor Jack Copas, Epworth United Methodist Church, Elizabeth, NJ
Rev. Richard Matsushita (retired), Cal-Pac Annual ConferencePastor Schuyler Rhodes, Temple United Methodist Church, San Francisco, CA
Pastor Kelvin Sauls, Downs Memorial United Methodist Church, Oakland, CA
Rev. Harry Shaner (retired) San Ramon Valley Charge Conference, Walnut Creek, CA
Pastor Dave Slorpe, Mill Valley United Methodist Church, Mill Valley, CA
Pastor Paul Sweet, Crystal Springs United Methodist Church, San Mateo, CA
________________________________________________________________
(to add your name to this growing list – there are far more than listed here – please email me at pastor@templeumc.org. include your name, church, city and state. Thank you._

2005-10-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

Choosing to Grow:
A Pastoral Letter to a Community in the Process of Discernment.

(While this letter is offered from one pastor to one congregation, it is also for the spirit and hope of the whole church)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Just under a year ago, the Temple United Methodist Church Council adopted the following missional theme for our Church. “Growing in Faith. Growing in Mission. Growing in Number.” Most of you have heard it before. It has a nice ring to it. Everyone wants the Church to grow. Right? And truth be told, we’ve done pretty well so far. As we have focused on the first two areas, we have seen growth. We have grown in faith as we condensed our business meetings to one morning a month and expanded the number of Bible Studies, Prayer Groups and Spiritual Life Small Groups and other faith development opportunities. We have also grown in Mission as we have reached out to the African Continent with our Goat Project and our full time Missionary to South Africa. Moreover, we have focused locally on the development of Community Partners as we have covenanted with eight different community groups through sponsorship, sharing and cooperative efforts. Our latest Community partner, thanks be to God, is Jose Ortega Elementary School, where we have taken on the project of providing uniforms, supplies, and perhaps even helping them develop a music program!
And now we are focusing on the numbers piece.
What does it mean to “grow in numbers?” Well obviously, it means more people “joining” the church. More succinctly, though, it means bringing more people to Jesus Christ through involvement with a worshipping, practicing Christian community. This is a pretty basic mandate of faith (Matthew 28:18), and one that could use more intentional focus on our community.
When we start talking about a church “growing in numbers,” the focus pretty quickly goes to the worship environment of the church. Why? We look to worship because this is the focal point of our lives of faith. And we go there because nearly 100% of the people who will be joining us will come first to a worship service. So it’s important, even critical, for us to be clear, focused, and intentional about how and when we worship together.
For us as United Methodist Christians, the worship of God centers on the experience of God as revealed in the teachings, life and rising of Jesus Christ. When we come to worship, the point is for us to surrender ourselves to the power of God’s Spirit. The point is to make ourselves vulnerable to being transformed in love. It isn’t about a time slot – though we need to consider that. It’s not about worship styles - though we need to be able to communicate with our culture. It’s not about taste in music - though the music - like the rest of the service – must also speak to the culture. It’s not about any of those things which take up a lot of our time and attention. It is, first and last, about God. Even when we try to speak to the society around us, it is about God that we speak. It is about God’s transforming love in Jesus Christ. Nothing more, nothing less.
When it comes to worship, we must resist the urge to be consumers. The object of worship, again, is God….not you or me or the satisfying of our tastes. And so, as we pause to consider what it means to “grow in numbers,” it is also time to consider what it is that we are doing in worship as a Christian Church.
Looking at Temple’s worship life as it has been for more than a decade, some basic questions occur.
1) What is it we are doing in worship?
2) Why are we doing it?
3) Who is it we are trying to please?
4) In our worship is God’s love in Jesus Christ lifted up? Or are we lifting up ourselves?
5) In our worship, are we striving through praise, prayer, music and the preached word, to give ourselves over completely to God?
6) In worship are we offering Christ to the world, or trying to keep him a well kept secret among friends?
7) Does our worship reach out to others? Or is it designed to please only us?
8) Do the times of our services make it easy for others to join us? Or is it habit and convenience that determine our schedule?
9) We are only a few blocks from thousands of university students. How are we inviting and welcoming them into worship?
10) Our neighborhood is changing radically. Are we responding to the changes in terms of what we offer the community in worship opportunities?
11) As we practice “invitational evangelism,” who is it we wish to invite?
12) What new and creative things might we do to worship God in a way that
invites and welcomes?

As your Pastor, I call the entire faith community at Temple to seriously engage in prayerful discernment around these questions. I am calling us to go deeply into this. I am also calling everyone to think and pray “outside the box.” Let us use this opportunity to discover together how we can better offer Christ to the world through our worship life.
In the coming weeks I want to encourage each person to make an appointment to sit and talk with me about this. Let’s pray together. Let’s share deeply our prayerful consideration of the above questions. Let’s sit together and think outside the box about how our worship life might move forward in new and exciting ways as we reach out to offer Christ and to “grow in numbers.”
I am also setting up several “Listening Posts” in November where you may come and share in gentle, prayerful discussion about our worship life as a Christian community. Watch for announcements about these “Listening Posts” in the Church Newsletter, and on the Church Website.
As we move through this discernment time, I will be continually sitting and working with our Ministry Team, the Worship Committee and our Lay Leaders to gain a sense of where it is that God is calling us to go in this critical time in the life of our church.
I want to offer a personal thanks to those who have already taken the time and the careful focus to meet with me. I look forward to sitting with as many of you as possible in the coming weeks. Keeping each one of you always in my prayers, I am

Yours in the Peace of Christ,

Pastor Schuyler Rhodes

2005-07-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

I BELIEVE IN……WHAT?
The Apostle’s Creed:
Not What You Think It Is

A Personal Reflection

By Schuyler Rhodes

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I grew up reciting the words of the ancient creeds of the Church each Sunday of my early life. The organ music would swell and we would, stand soulful with my eyes on the cross as we recited any one of a host of different creeds. ‘Truth be told, I didn’t really know what I saying. Phrases like “the quick and the dead (see the Apostle’s Creed below and in the UM Hymnal, #881),” reminded me more of the latest episode of “Gunsmoke” then anything related to my uninformed faith. But I dutifully said them anyway.
For a long time I labored under the delusion that I had to actually sign off on each word that was in each creed that the pastor had slated for me to say on Sunday. It was, to me, the contract. Underneath it all I was hearing the words, “believe these words or go to hell!” Well, I’m a North American White Male, and friends, no one tells me what to believe! So I shut my mouth and refused to say anything that I hadn’t myself approved of previously. I was, I must confess, a bit indignant.
Finally, after getting over myself a bit, and realizing that I did not have a license to define reality, I actually listened to a few sermons. I took a few Christian Education courses at my Church and began to get an idea of what was really going on with these things called creeds. It turns out that they aren’t what I thought they were.
Of course these days we don’t hear much about creeds in our churches. Indeed, little if anything is known about them by most church members because they are rarely if ever use them in worship or prayer. Preachers don’t preach on them, and there are still those who, like me, grow wary when someone tries to pin them down on what exactly this Jesus stuff means. The back stiffens, resentment grows. After all, this is America. Shouldn’t we be able to “believe” whatever we want without interference from the church?
But the truth is that the creeds are important. They are not, as I simplistically assumed, documents dangled in front of the faithful with the insistence that we agree in rote lock-step to every jot and tittle of the law. In fact, the reverse is actually the case.
The Creeds of the Church represent a clear view of where we have stood over time as a people of faith. They are a slice of Christian life at a given moment and reveal the struggles and issues that confronted our ancestors and may still engage us if we’re willing to enter the discussion.
Over two millennia, the struggles and discussions within and without have generated literally hundreds of Creeds. From the Apostle’s Creed, which is one of our earliest creedal formulations, to the World Methodist Social Affirmation developed at the end of the 20th century, creeds have articulated our process, playing a critical role in clarifying thought and formulating paths for the future. Creeds got their start in the earliest church when newly converted Christians would stand before the community and state how their conversion had changed them. It would usually be short. “Jesus is Lord (1st Corinthians 12:3),” or I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37).” Eventually these simple baptismal creeds turned into what we know now as the Apostle’s Creed.
The earliest form of this creed was developed in response to the views of Marcion, a Christian who didn’t feel that the Old Testament God was part of what Jesus represented. This was around 180 AD. Over time the creed underwent further development and change in response to the challenges and struggles that were taking place within the Church. It is striking in its simplicity and powerful in its clarity.
But today, years away from its inception and smack in the middle of a so-called “post Christian paradigm” this ancient creed still rings powerfully in the ears of faith.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified dead and buried,
The third day he rose from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy catholic church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting, AMEN.

It may ring powerfully, but you may well ask, but what does all that mumbo jumbo mean? What are we saying when we say this? And again, the question comes. What if we don’t’ agree with it? Will we be sent to hell?
Let’s be clear.
The creeds don’t exist for us to stand there with thumbs up or thumbs down. Rather, these thoughts are there for us to receive. They are not unlike the minutes of a meeting that are received into the record. I may not have agreed with what went on at that meeting, but its process and history are a part of our life now. They represent a slice in the life of the group. So there it is. Agree or not, it’s part of who we are.
So let’s think about this particular creed for a moment. This credo, this statement of belief or to put it more succinctly, this understanding of Christian reality, is powerful for us. It is at the root of who we are as a faith community.
Join me a moment as we ramble briefly through the Apostle’s Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty.
Certainly, belief in God is pretty basic if you want to be part of the Christian tradition. If you don’t believe in God, Christian community might not be a choice that you want to make for your life. It’s OK if someone chooses to be an atheist. All we’re saying is that we don’t make that choice. We do believe in God.
And God as Father? Well, sexism notwithstanding, the notion of God as parent is something that should be wrestled with in prayer and in community. What does it mean for us individually to say we experience God as a Father or Mother? Some can personalize it by saying, “My Dad was abusive, so I can’t deal with the notion of God as a Father.” Others might look more broadly at the notion of parenthood and the responsibility, care, and commitment that it requires, and therein see the metaphor that our ancestors sought to articulate.

Maker of heaven and earth.
This part’s pretty easy. It’s a clarifier. Just in case we’re confused. This God we’re talking about is Creator of all things. Rocks, trees, flowers, oceans, amoebas, republicans and democrats, the Lord God made them all. So this is the big cheese. The One. And yes, this is also pretty basic for us.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
This part is a little tricky if you ask me. Clearly, we Christians claim Jesus Christ as Lord. It is, for us, the bottom line. But it gets tricky when we set ourselves up in the position of trying to limit God….God’s only Son? What if God decides to have another go at it? Who are we to say? Presuming upon God, in my view, borders on blasphemy. Perhaps it would be enough if we say that – for us – Jesus Christ is Lord. Could we let go of the “only” part? Perhaps then we can refrain from the sin of judging others. For my part, I’d like to avoid making judgments about others who believe and experience the Holy different than we do.
Once more, let me be clear. As Christian community this statement is absolutely true. For us, Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. He is, for us, the Messiah, the Son of God. There is no other. We have made the choice, and we build our church, our faith and our ministry around this. But God help us if we dare to judge others for their differences or their beliefs. God will do the judging, not us.

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit;
I am a United Methodist. Our tribe isn’t overly concerned with the literal idea of the virgin birth – as such (more on this in a moment). In fact, as a life-long, card carrying Wesleyan Methodist let me offer a way of seeing this apart from literalism. When we speak to artists or authors we often hear about how they conceived of the book or the painting. We never assume some physical contact or sexual act here, but rather the birth of an idea. Might we take the notion of “conceived by the spirit,” in this sense? That the Logos or Word of God was….God’s idea? God’s conception? It works for me. The incarnation of God’s love in Jesus was God’s….conception….if you get the drift.

Born of the Virgin Mary;
As was just mentioned, my own tradition doesn’t affirm the notion of a literal virgin birth. Some sources suggest that the concept of virgin here merely refers to a woman who had not given birth prior to this occasion. There are also some other pre-Christian mythical elements that may have been mixed in here….the idea of a hero God born to a virgin…..in any case….Mary was the Mom. Of this we’re all pretty sure. Joseph, whether real Dad or not was pretty together. Who else would have stuck around for all that nonsense? But in truth, we deal with this as story; as part of our great tradition, but do not insist on a literal interpretation.

Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
For we Christian folk, this too, is part of the story. We read in scripture and embrace the story that Jesus was arrested and handed over to Pilate. From there he was tortured, executed and then buried. With all due to respect to Mel Gibson, this scenario, by itself, is little more than an historic afterthought. After all, thousands (probably tens of thousands!) of people suffered under Pontius Pilate, were crucified until they died, and then were buried. What’s so special about this guy? The death, by itself, means nothing. But sandwiched, as it is, between his life and his rising, it takes on a huge significance.

The third day he rose from the dead;
Some will read this and want to get embroiled in a scientific debate about whether he really raised from the dead or not. Did he really die on the cross? Or did some folks help him down from there only moments from death? Others will say that rising from the dead is exactly what happened. On and on ad nauseum it goes. For my part, the discussion is a waste of time. I know I’ll get in trouble on this, but I need to say it. The historicity of the story is not relevant for us. In other words, the actuality of the event is beside the point. We could argue the finer points of all this until we’re blue in the face and still completely miss the meaning of Jesus’ rising from the dead. Here’s the point. Resurrection is key in Christian understanding. The notion that death does not have the final say is the profoundly radical foundation of Christian thinking. Forget about whether or not the details of the story are. Instead, peer deeply into its truth. In the world around us, death is the final sanction. With nations, governments, civic authority, death has the final say. If you want to win the argument, kill the opponent. The ultimate punishment is death. That settles everything. But in the larger culture, death is not merely an act that stops a heart from beating. Death is a way of being. From the strangulation of eco-systems to the starvation of whole populations, death in our world holds sway. From the idolatry of profits first to killing legalisms that rob people of dignity and health, the way of death is business as usual in the world out there.
Not so with Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ bursts the cultural assumption of death and replaces it with the notion that self-giving love is redemptive. In fact, self-giving love is so powerful that it overcomes death. We experience God’s self-giving love in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and see its redemptive power in his rising. We experience the self-giving love of Martin Luther King Jr. and see its redemptive power in the rising of a people. Whether it is Jesus, Rev. King, or you or me, it is true that new life that emerges from self-giving love.
So this resurrection thing is pretty important. Whether the forgoing outburst resonates with you or not, this remains the fulcrum of Christian faith.

And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
I guess by this we can intuit that Jesus is God’s right hand man. Seriously, though, this is the connotation. It is wrapped up, again, in some deep seated need for our thing to be the only thing. I’m sure that Jesus is God’s incarnation for us. I accept that God is in Christ, offering us healing and reconciliation. But where he sits doesn’t matter much to me. It mattered to the early Church, though, who was engaged in debate and discussion with its own Hebrew tradition, along with other pagan religions. So they needed to make the point. Jesus is the one, God’s right hand man.

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
When reciting this part as a kid, I figured I’d rather be quick than dead. References to TV westerns aside, it did seem a strange line to put into something we say each week at Church. But then there is the judging thing. Most contemporary folk shy away from this. In a relativistic culture like ours, it’s a difficult concept. If I’m OK and you’re OK, if everything is relative, then how can we be judged for being good or bad? We don’t like being judged. Moreover, we don’t want to be held accountable for our behavior (a lot of which isn’t so good). But the early Church embraced a God who held the people accountable for their behavior. When I observe the way some church folk behave, I tend to think that a mutual accountability in Christian community maybe it’s not such a bad idea.
The truth is that if we embrace a justice loving, life affirming God, it puts us in a certain place regarding those who pervert justice and degrade life. Call it judgment if you like. But the real deal is that Christian folk do take sides. And anyway, the “quick and the dead” simply means the “living and the dead.”

I believe….
Up to this point, we’ve basically laid out the story. Before this we can nod or shake our heads, and try to understand. But here is the part that is challenging. For the early Church it was an “if – then” proposition. A classic teaching style. If we embrace this story that we have laid out in the forgoing, then it seems logical to believe (or trust) in the following. Yet for them, this was not belief in a simplistic yes or no proposition. It’s not like believing in Casper the Ghost. One either does or does not believe in ghosts. No. This is different in a pretty large way. This is belief in the sense that you trust (in Scripture the Greek word is Pistus, meaning trust) that this is so and promise to live your life accordingly. I trust that the brakes on my Volkswagen will work, so I get in the car and drive. I trust in my friend to have my best interests at heart, so I make myself vulnerable to him or her. I believe or trust in the following things and will change my life accordingly. This is not just a yes or no question. Let’s see where they go.

In the Holy Spirit;
We don’t need to have a thumbs up / thumbs down vote on the Holy Spirit. We experience it. In worship, in fellowship, in mission and ministry we experience God’s presence as Spirit. It is the biblical promise of Jesus to be with us, to send us an “advocate.” Moreover, we trust in that Spirit to guide us and be our help in every circumstance.

In the Holy catholic Church;
This one used to upset some of my anti Roman Catholic relatives. But this is catholic with a small “c” meaning universal. This statement really refers to a trust in the universal reality of the ecclesia….of those called out in the Holy Spirit to live lives that are different than the rest of the world. We are church, not because of bishops and institutions, but because we (hopefully) live out the teachings of Jesus Christ in each moment of our lives and trust that all others who claim the name of Christ will do the same.
The communion of Saints;
The meaning of this phrase doesn’t jump right out and bite you at first. What it has to do with is community. The original Greek text used the word koinonnia, where here you see “communion.” This refers to fellowship, or community. It’s unlikely, too, that the concept of Saints in the early Church compared with what we understand today. Saints today are honored ones who have done great things. We put them on pedestals and name churches and schools after them. But in Paul’s writings, Saints were the everyday average Christians struggling to be faithful to God’s Word. So what this really has to do with is the call to trust, to believe in the quirky and sometimes crazy process of being in Christian community. It is one of the great gifts of our faith, and believing or trusting in it is a process that goes on throughout our lives.

The forgiveness of sins;
Well, now we’re really getting into it. If Jesus was about anything, it was forgiveness. The question here is how well do we forgive? Are we willing to trust in forgiveness? To forgive someone who has damaged or hurt us? If it’s someone who has really messed up, will we forgive as God does? Will we allow grace to invade and make all things new? This is pretty radical. For most of us, the forgiveness thing gets lip service only. But to really trust it, to believe in it to the extent that we practice it? Mmmm.

The Resurrection of the Body;
This notion causes concern and discussion wherever it goes. Will our physical bodies be resurrected? Will the atoms that made up our bodies be reassembled at the resurrection? Will we all be walking around just like we were when we died? Nikos Kazantsakis, in his wonderful novel, “The Last Temptation of Christ,” presents the rising of Lazarus in a hard fashion. The risen friend of Jesus continues to rot as he strolls around through the story, which is replete with graphic descriptions of the state of his decomposition.
How will this resurrection happen, anyway? One theologian says that we have no more idea of what that will look like than an embryo does of what it will look like as an adult human. The Resurrection is, it must be stated, one of the mysteries of faith. It cannot be explained. Yet we accept it as real. And if we look closely we can see resurrection all around us. New life from old rises up in God’s Creation everywhere we look. After devastating brokenness in human relationships, people find new beginnings. Bereaved spouses move through painful grief to find new life and even a new beginning with a new partner. It’s resurrection. It happens. And it happens in deeper and more powerful ways than we are capable of imagining.
And the life everlasting; Do you trust that there is more to us than all this stuff and stress around us? Do you sense that somehow there is a vast plane beyond this one? Or like many pastors, perhaps you have walked with people through near death experiences and heard them return to tell of potent experiences? Do we trust that there is more to the story than we might know or perceive? And even so, what about this life? Do we behave in such a way that life can continue in marvelous wonder and abundance? How is it that we treat our planet and one another? Is not this part of life everlasting? Jesus said that he had come so that all might have life and have it in abundance. It could be stated that life everlasting pertains to both our current lives in this world as well as to what is to come.

AMEN: In other words, so be it. I concur. I trust……believe……accept this as an affirmation of the faith I have in God through Jesus Christ. Do I agree with every word? Maybe. Maybe not. But as I mentioned from the get go…..complete agreement is not the point. The real question is whether we will allow ourselves to be formed and moved by the power of our tradition and those who formed it. Will we agree to embrace these slices of the life of our Church….these points of engagement….these creeds? And will we promise to engage our faith and its challenges as deeply and profoundly as our ancestors?

Well, there it is. The Apostle’s Creed in a nutshell….or at least one Pastor’s ruminations on it. ‘Hope you enjoyed the romp.
When I was a student at Drew Theological School more than two decades ago, a wise professor made each first year student write their own creed. Fortunately mine has been lost over the ensuing decades. But I can assure you it was pompous, arrogant and not a little self-centered. Then, as we prepared to graduate, this wonderful man had us – once more – write our creeds. Were they different? You bet they were. The sea changes of learning and life that confronted us in those years changed us. They changed our faith as well. And would a creed I wrote today be different from ten years ago? Absolutely. You see, the point of creedal confession is not to freeze and paralyze faith into an icy tundra of doctrine. It is, rather, to engage our convictions and understandings at the intersection of living faith and it’s impact on us and our world. It is to think and pray deeply about who we are in the power of God’s all powerful love. And it is to humbly realize that in the midst of it all, the mystery of faith continues far beyond our ability to fathom it.
My own sense is that learning to understand and appreciate these foot prints of Christian tradition can only help us as we strive to be faithful in today’s world. And while we do not shy away from “bottom line” elements to Christian faith, the ancient creeds are not to be held up as a litmus test for us to dispose of with a “yay” or a “nay.”John Wesley would ask if we accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ and if we intend to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we accept that much, the rest is fodder for a good adult education class. It helps no one if we draw a line down the middle of the school yard and have those who “believe” the creeds stand on one side and those who “don’t believe” the creed stand on the other.
Instead, my vote would be for us to receive these hallmarks of struggle and growth as part of our history and tradition. My vote, if anyone cared to count it, would be that we not build our relationships or our churches on the degree of our agreement surrounding this or any other creed. Instead, perhaps we could have good discussion over a cup of coffee and proceed to heed the sacred call to love deeply, care passionately, and to walk humbly with our God.

Thanks for sticking with me!
More to come this summer.
Pastor Schuyler Rhodes

2005-04-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

THE CHURCH IS NOT A CONSUMER AFFAIR

It has dawned on me - over more more than two decades of serving churches around the nation - that we as the church have a challenge before us.

Yes, I know. We have many challenges. We are challenged to grow, in faith, in mission and in numbers. We are challenged to claim a vision of ministry and faithfulness. And we are challenged - each one of us - to be faithful in our lives. All of this and more is before us.
But there is one challenge, I think, that if addressed, might help us with many of the other concerns that face us.

And that challenge has to do with the way in which we perceive the Church.

Think about it for a minute. What do people call it when they go looking for a church? They call it "Church Shopping." We look around until we find.....what? Certainly anyone seeking a church community hopes to find an environmment conducive to their faith. Many look for family based programs and whatnot. I must confess, that when we retire and go looking for a church community, we will do the same.

But uncomfortable truth is that underlying many of our assumptions is a consumer mentality about church. We feel that we should get what we want, or think we need. After all, we are the consumers, aren't we? We pay our pledge (most of us) and come to worship. Some of us even step up to the plate and participate in leadership roles. Shouldn't we then get what we want?
Well, yes......and no

If what we want is to deepen our faith in God through Jesus Christ, then yes. If what we want is to surrender our own ego and give ourselves to God's greater purpose for us, then yes. If what we want is to let go of all the baggage we hold and open ourselves up to the life changing love of God, then yes.....we do get what we want.

But if what we want has to do with our taste in music or worship style; if what we want has to do with us getting to make the decisions; well...you know the drill. If we are seeking our own gratification then I guess the answer is no. We don't get what we want.

This Church thing, we really must remember, is not about you or me. It's not - and I sometimes bridle at this because I too wrestle with ego - but it's not about what I think is important.

It's about God.

It's about the love of God as we discover it together in Jesus Christ. And the way we discover that is to lose our baggae, let go of our petty wants and desires and turn our hearts totally to God. That is what worship is about.

So when we come to worship, let us come, not to hear what we want; not to have our own world- views affirmed. When we enter into worship, let it not be about us at all, but about us giving all our praise and adoration to God. Let it be about us allowing the Spirit to enter in and change us.

We are not consumers, looking to have our wants gratified. We are worshippers, submitting our whole selves to a power greater than that which we can conceive.

And in our narcissistic world, this is no easy thing.

My prayer is that we will work, move, and pray together to give our selves and our lives to God.

See you next time.

Pastor Schuyler

2005-04-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

RENDERING UNTO CAESAR (Matthew 22:15-22)

We all know the story from scriputre. The adversaries are trying to trap Jesus. They want to play gottcha in the worst way because this guy is starting to get out of control and making things uncomfortable for the orgainzed religion folk. He's questioning their ethics, their integrity, and their faithfulness. And besides, we all know that organized religion folk prefer comfort.

So, they hold up a coin for him to see. They want to know if it's ok to pay taxes.

Hmmm. Pay taxes? To the Emporer? To Caesar? Well, of course it's illegal NOT to pay them. Everybody knows that. Like it or not, there they are. On the other hand, any good Jew would have a serious issue with paying out their hard earned shekels to an occupying power.

Given the time of year here in the good ole' USA, this is an interesting question for us as well. We do, after all, worship the same God as the one that both Jesus and the Pharisees claimed to follow. What do you say? Is it ok to pay taxes?

Some of us would say "yes." Taxes are a good thing. Roads, hospitals, State Parks and what not. We all have an obligation to pay for those things which are for the good of the whole community. That's true, of course. But what about the things paid for by our taxes that don't even come close to attending to the common good? What about the things covered by our taxes that pretty much focus on harm and destruction? Things that are counter call to God's call to justice and mercy? Are to pay for that? And if we do, don't we then become responsible for the destruction for which we've paid?

Most of us would shrug and shake our heads saying "the only thing you can't avoid are death and taxes," though I think I'd add terrible television news coverge to the list.

It's a tough question. And I must be frank. I pay my taxes. I don't love it, but I do pay them. So, from where I sit, whatever actions are made possible by my money are things for which I am morally and spiritually responsible.

But the question remains. It hangs in the air, hovering like a scent that will not depart. It is, the elephant in the room for Christians now and then. The coin is being held up and we are being asked, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emporer or not (vs 17)?"

WDJD? What did Jesus do?

Well, he shrugged. Actually, scripture doesn't record the shrug. But I add it for visual effect. Well, more than visual I guess. It's really an attitudinal effect. So, he shrugged, glanced at the coin and without misssing a beat, said, "Whose head is this and whose title?"
They said, "The Emporer's"

"So," said Jesus. "Give to the Emporer the things that are the Emporer's, and give to God the things that are God's (vs. 22)."

They were speechless. "Amazed" is the word from the New Revised Standard Version, and then they turned and went away. For years I didn't understand the response of the Pharisees. Why leave? What did Jesus mean? The whole thing was pretty confusing to me.
And then I studied more deeply about 1st century Judaism in Roman occupied Israel. In those days, a devout Jew understood God has all powerful. More than that, a devout Jew knew God to be the Creator of all things. Indeed, the Creation belonged to God as far as these folks were concerned.

So, if you consider the religious point of view of the folks involved, the story gets clear.
Everything belongs to God. That means that Caesar's claim goes unmet. God gets it all. Caesar gets nothing.

Now, am I advocating tax evasion? Hardly. As I said, I myself pay taxes, and I am loathe to ask anyone to do something I am unwilling to do.

However, I do think we need to get clear on a couple of things. First, everything does, in fact, belong to God. God provides us with eveything we have. And second, when we do pay our taxes, this God - without question - holds us accountable for how God's resources are used in the world.

Do our taxes make provision for the care of the poor and vulnerable among us?
Do our taxes offer healthcare and healing?
Do our taxes build roads, schools and hospitals?
Do our taxes work to build a just and equitable society?
You do the math. Figure it out. Take some time to see where our taxes are spent. What percentage is spent to house the homeless? What portion is expended to educate? To heal? To protect our environment? How much of our taxes is spent on international cooperation? On diplomacy?

I cannot make the determination.
Only you can do that. But it is important, very important that it be done. The disposition, I believe, of our souls depends upon it. So check it out. And if, by chance, some of God's resources that have been entrusted to us ARE being used to do things that we're pretty sure God wouldn't approve of......well then we have some work to do together, don't you think?
Holding you in prayer,
trusting in grace,

Pastor Schuyler Rhodes

2004-12-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

WILL THE REAL CHRISTIANS PLEASE STAND UP?

Let's face it.

Being a Christian today is no easy thing.

First of all, look at all the different kinds of folks who say they are Christian. Though I hesitate to use the word in this context, it is a diverse group.

The people who claim the name of Christ are all over the map. There are some, though in my opinion never enough, who hate war. There are some, including persons holding high political office, who seem to love war. There are still others who say they hate war, but think it's justified anyway. There are people who claim to be Christian who strive to reach out in an embrace of all people. And there are some with the name of Jesus on their lips who are very ready cast out, and even persecute differing groups of people because they are judged as "sinners."

This list could go on ad nauseum. Most of you taking the time to read this, know it perhaps better than you would like. It goes to questions of orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right action), and beyond. But wherever it all goes, it raises, at least in my mind, a serious question about what it means to be Christian; what it means to be Church.

Which ones are the real Christians, anyway?

For my own part, I'll be bold (perhaps stupid) enough to say out loud that there are some people who claim the name of Jesus Christ who are not Christian. Something tells me that no one is really shocked by this revelation. 'Old news you say? Maybe so, but it seems like too many people are saying too little.

To me, it's kind of like the guy who ran around pretending to be a doctor. He wore the right clothes, had a stethoscope, and he even performed surgery on folks. But he wasn't a doctor. And indeed, after a while his masquerade caused some real damage, even death. As an old friends says to me often, "Just because you sleep in the garage doesn't mean you're a Chevrolet!" Just because you say all those great churchy words and posture like a righteous person doesn't mean that you are, in fact, Christian.

There are folks out there who have some very clear agendas in mind; agendas that have to do with domination and profit, not with love and healing. And for some reason they are working real hard at stretching Christian faith over that agenda in the vain hope that we won't notice.

Well, I notice.

I want to be really clear here about this one thing.

Faith in God through Jesus Christ does not serve ideology. Jesus does not lean right or left. He doesn't claim conservative or liberal party membership. He's not Democrat or Republican, or even Green. And any group or individual across this spectrum who tries to claim this is simply lying.

Being Christian means stepping apart from this kind of divisive and even violent engagement. It means joining a community of people who take Holy Scripture seriously enough to study it with intellectual rigor and scholarship. It means moving with Jesus away from the strictures of institution into the expansive, even extravagant love of God. Being Christian isn't something we get right as soon as we get baptized. It is a journey. We are, as John Wesley reminds us, "on our way to perfection." So, we do get it wrong.... a lot. But we try to be honest about that, and pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and accept humbly the new beginning that Christ offers us.

Being Christian means being scooped up by grace. By grace I mean the unending, relentless love of God that will not let you go....no matter who you are, where you come from, what you've been through....or even who you choose to love. That love is there for everyone. And if we can accept that love, it will change our lives.

Being Christian has a lot to do with not just talking the talk, but walking the walk of Jesus Christ. And that, friends, is the profoundly counter-cultural walk of self-giving love. Our model for that is Jesus himself. He gave of himself and we are called to do likewise, even if it leads to a cross.

Being Christian is about love and acceptance, not anger and rejection.

It's about healing and wholeness, not about hurting or wounding.

We would do well to watch the very vocal ones who talk a lot about Jesus and then spend huge amounts of energy trying to split churches, pesecute people who are unlike them, and identifying their cause with partisan right wing politics.

Quite simply, we can tell a lot about the authenticity of one's faith by the "fruit" that it bears.

Look around you. Who are the people who are filled with kindness, forgiveness, grace?

See what I mean?

So, now that I've made it all clear as mud, let me close this latest posting with the following.

Go to your book shelf and pull down your Bible. Don't have one? Go online. Look up the Gospel of Matthew. That's in the "New" Testament. Read chapters 5-7. These few pages pretty well sum it up. The Christian enterprise is pretty well laid out right there. If folks claim the name of Jesus, and are at least striving to live like that....it's a fairly safe bet that they're the real deal.

My own hope and prayer is that we will build communities that live out the values and teachings that Jesus offers us. My own conviction is that God is indeed Love. And if we live in love, we live in God, and God will live in us.......and make a home therein.

Well, I'm done for now.

Peace to you all.

Pastor Schuyler

2004-10-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

WWJVF?

Well, I don't need to tell you that we're in a political season. Not living in a so called swing state, I sure miss the barrage of rhetoric and ads that must be flying at folks in places like Ohio and Florida right now. Everywhere these people turn, dollars turned into media time fly from the tv screens and radios. Talk about saturation. It must be difficult to escape, especially when allegedly neutral news services get into the act.

But as we look down the two plus weeks to the election I have to ask another question of Christians and their churches. It's been on my mind a lot lately, and I just need to ask:
WHO WOULD JESUS VOTE FOR?

I know. It's a touchy question. Republicans and Decomcrats, Liberals and Conservatives alike would be only too happy to give their version of what Jesus would do shortly after stepping into the voting booth. As for me, I have no idea how Jesus would vote.

I can tell you that Jesus said to "love your enemy." But I have no idea how Jesus would vote.
I can tell you that Jesus said, "Blessed are the Poor." But I have no idea how Jesus would vote.
I can tell you that Jesus healed the sick even if they didn't have health insurance.
But I wouldn't pretend to know how Jesus would vote.
And I can tell you that Jesus said that those who live by the sword shall die by it. But alas, I still cannot shed any light on how Jesus might vote.

No one could say how a first century guy like our Lord would vote. I can hardly summon up the image of Jesus and an exit poll, let alone imagine him mulling choices over soon to be hanging chads.

No. Neither you or I know how Jesus would vote.
But we do know how he calls us to live.
We do know that the call of Jesus summons us to the barricades in the struggle for social justice.
We do know that the call of our Savior forbids us to do harm to others....for any reason.
We do know that in our baptism we have been called into communities of faith where everyone is to be welcomed. No exceptions.
And we know that the new life we have in Christ Jesus is something we are called to share, not just with words, but with substance and even by offering our own lives if need be.

It would be wrong, and some might even think unethical of me to suggest to you that Jesus might vote one way or the other. God, after all, is neither Republican or Democrat, and rumor has it he doesn't back Nader either. So I won't go there. Nope. Not even close.

I will, however, succumb to the boldness of a long, long day and say this.

We may be non-partisan, but we may not be neutral.

We may not be silent in the face of injustice and violence, whether it's in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco or the streets of Falujah. We may not shirk from our call to pick up the cross and follow Jesus.

It's certainly not easy. But it is pretty simple. We stand for Biblical principles, not passing partisan fads. In Christian teaching war has been considered an abomination long before we marched into Bagdad. Healing has been a primary call of Christians long before health care was in issue in our land. You know the deal. Pick up your Bible. Read Matthew, chapters 5-7.

The bottom line is this. You look at the candidates and you decide. It turns out that it's not about how Jesus would vote. It's about you. You look at the candidates and the issues. You decide.

Well, that's enough for one late Saturday night.

Wishing all of you every good blessing and urging all of us to walk the walk, I bid you good night.

Pastor Schuyler Rhodes

2004-09-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

Friends,
Septemer 11th has slipped past with a quiet shudder and more visual reminders on television than any of us would like to see. It is hard to look at the distance we have travelled since those planes crashed into buildings and fields scattering death and confusion arross the landscape of our lives. But travelled we have. In fact, one can wonder if we're the same people we once were.

Civil liberties continue to be curtailed across the nation while our fears of another attack are cynically manipulated for political purposes. What color is it today? Our long held and sacred right of public assembly and protest has been relegated by the sitting president to "free speech zones," far away from where the president might be speaking or any other event might be taking place. Free speech? I don't think so. There is, shockingly enough, even talk from the White House of delaying or canceling the November elections because of the threat of terrorism. Even in the Civil War, when America was at war with itself, even in the 1st and 2nd world war, elections went on in this nation as scheduled. Now even our right to vote is in jeapordy. Our democracy is in danger of disappearing.

And then there are the wars we are fighting. With 1000 plus American soldiers dead, and more than 10,000 Iraqis dead, not to mention the ongoing unrest in Afghanistan we are, it seems painfully clear, in a long term and costly war.

That the war in Iraq has nothing to do with September 11th seems to go unnoticed by most people in our nation. That we were dragged into this war on the threadbare coat tales of a lie seems not to matter. And as thousands of young amputees return home, we keep them safely and quietly out of sight so no one will see; so no one will get upset. We are not even afforded a look at the plane loads of caskets landing in the dead of night.

The pursuit of this war has cost our nation its allies and erased the good will that the world felt toward us in the painful aftermath of the terrorist attacks of three years ago. From a surplus in our national budget to a projected $73 trillion dollar deficit, the war machine consumes boys, girls, families, and our economic well-being as well.

Should one more m0ther's son die for a lie? Should one more husband or wife become bereft for a false cause? Should our nation continue the lone path of more and more isolation as former allies step further and further away?

There is, for me, one clear answer. And that is the call of our Lord Jesus Christ to "love our enemies." It is the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to "turn the other cheek," and to not return evil with evil. If you are a Christian reading this, my plea is to consider this most basic element of our faith. Nonviolence.

Oh, we can justify wars and violence. We can come up with all sorts of reasons to put an M-16 in the hands of a teenager and convince him or her that "the enemy" must be killed. We can dehumanize that same "enemy" in their eyes to such an extent that the events in Iraqi prisons became more common place than we are being told. We can say we're doing it for freedom, or for the American Way of life. We might even make a slip into honesty and say we're doing it to protect our access to middle eastern oil. But however we justify it, neitiher this or any other war can ever be justified in the eyes of God's love in Christ Jesus Christ.

There. It's said.

To be Chrisitan is to claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To be Christian is to follow our Lord's teachings to pursue peace and justice for all people. To be Christian is to focus our prayers and our life's efforts on the betterment of those we are told are our enemies. To be Chritian is to feed the hungry, heal the sick, house the homeless, and liberate the oppressed. To be Christian is to put Christ before Caesar in all things.

So, as we say good bye to another September 11th, my own prayer is that we somehow learn to grow more clear about who we are called to be as a people. My prayer is that we will place Christ at the center of our hearts and our lives and engage the struggle for peace, for love, for hope and for salvation.

Let us be continually in prayer.
Let us be the ones whose lives become prayer.
Let us walk the walk, and talk the talk of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Peace be with you.

Schuyler Rhodes

2004-07-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Friends and fellow confidants, I wanted you to know that....

Today is my best friend's birthday.
He lives on the east coast, and our lives over nearly forty years, have gone in different directions.   But still, he is my best friend.   Over the years, we have had our ups and downs. We've fought, we've cared for and protected one another.   We've made up, we've argued, and we - somehow - have carried on into these mid-life years. It is one of the many miracles I've witnessed in my life.

Today is my best friend's birthday.

At fifty, he - and I - show a little more gray than once we did. At fifty, we laughingly recall the many rock concerts we attended here and there.   At fifty, there are warm, quiet smiles for the durability of affection, and the power of love.   At fifty, we have shed some of our former concerns and gained, not only pounds, but new cares and new passions.

This man is a giant.

He is gentle and profound. He is funny and deeply somber.    He is wise.   There is a fathomless depth in his spirit that bespeaks a journey, not only of time and miles, but of wonder and yes......faith.

Today is my best friend's birthday.
And the odd thing is - though I cannot attend his wonderful party - and though I am guilty of not enough calls or emails....the odd thing is....that I'm the one with the present. I have had the gift these many years.

So happy birthday, Jim.
Thanks for the gift of you.

I wonder if anyone else reading this has true friends who are far off and away?
It could be miles or other sorts of distance.   Maybe it's verticle distance...a wall....of anger or dysfunction. But I wonder if others drift as we have drifted?   Maybe today, on my best friend's birthday, old friendships can be reclaimed. What a way to celebrate! Maybe today, coiled up lines of communication can be opened. Maybe today something different, something old and new can emerge.

Today's my best friend's birthday.....and I'm the one who got the present.

Schuyler

2004-06-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Friends in Faith,

The question comes to us in a thousand different ways each day. "How are we to offer Christ to a world that doesn't know....or in many senses even care who he is?" In the Bay Area only 3% of the population goes to any Church at all. And even within our Church communities we find those who wonder why we talk so much about Jesus. It could be...and is argued in certain places, that we live in a "post Christian" world.

It's a challenging concern, and an exciting mission.

And it rests on one primary reality for us as Christians. We are called to share the Gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ. This saving message of new life, hope, and justice awaits both the telling and the living. As christians we cannot avoid it and still claim the name of Christ.

In the coming weeks and months I will be sharing some ways that we already share this message, as well as some suggestons for new ways that we can sare and live.
What follows is a first effort in this regard.

This morning the sounds of eighty youngsters filled the halls of our Church facililty as we opened our new partner ministry with the West Portal Elementary School Parents Club. We are working with them to offer a Science Camp and Vacation Bible School for three weeks to kids who would otherwise have neither science nor religious traning.

Partnerships within our local community is a key element in how we reach out both in service and in evangelical invitation.

Whether it's our partnership with the Golden Gate Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, where we assure that eighty-five children receive musical tranining, or our Tutorial Ministry, where twenty-five elementary school kids receive help with homework from positive adult role models, we assume a partnership with those who may not be "Christian." And in so doing, we not only have a chance to lend a hand where it's needed, but we get to share! Our outreach efforts are rooted in the fundamental assumption that we must be serving the community in the name of Jesus Christ. We don't do it annonymously, or timidly, but joyfully because of our commitment to God through Jesus Christ.

And so we build on this.

From our partnership ministry with Gum Moon that gave rise to the Asian Family Resource Center to our commitment to the San Francisco United Methodist Mission, we reach out to young and old. From our Mission commitment to Wesley Methodist Church in South Africa to our shared work with church members as they support orphanges, build hospitals and provide fresh water throughout Africa, we reach across bounaries of nation and race. From our engagement in "The Edge" Campus Ministry at SFSU to my work with Homeless advocacy and social justice concerns here in the City of San Francisco, we claim our anceint heritage of solidarity with the poor and oppreseed.

This is all fundamentally evangelical work. In all of it we offer Jesus Christ.

There is, of course, more that we can and will be doing. But for now, think a moment. Pray a bit and give thanks for the opportunities that fall to us as we move forward and continue to build bridges of understanding and hope within our community and throughout this city and nation.

Peace,
Pastor Schuyler

2004-06-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family in Faith,

Summer is suddenly upon us.
Kids are out of school and dispatched to various camps and activities. Vacations have begun...or at least been scheduled. Vacation Bible School is revving up in the corner, and all the Church camps are yawning wide, ready to accept the teeming hordes of young from around California and Nevada.

That's right. It's summer. And for all of us it has a host of different meanings and memories. But here in San Francisco, whether you're a kid out of school or someone who has to just slog through and wait for your vacation, summer means fog. Cool, damp, swirling, covering fog. I sat this morning at the beach, shrouded in it, peering into its cotton depths at the surf.

It was a strange feeling.

I could hear the water crashing rhythmically onto the beach. I could smell its pungent, primal odors. Occasionally I could even feel it.

But I could not see it.

What I could see was that cotton great fog, hugging me like my great aunt used to hug me in her parlor in Schenectady, NY.

I know I should have been a bit more relaxed about it and simply enjoyed the scene that God had arranged. But I wanted to see some ocean, dang it! It didn't matter that I could smell it, hear it, feel it, sense it.......I wanted to see it! And I began to grow agitated, sitting there on the sand. So much so that I decided to get up and get to the office. So I pulled on my shoes, stood up and brushed the sand from my slacks, and turned to leave. So much for seeing the glorious Pacific before work.

And then it hit me.

I had come to the beach, not to experience what it was.....but to experience what I wanted it to be...I was so caught up in what I wanted, stuck in what I expected, that the marvel and beauty of what was all around me was lost to me.

It seems to me that sometimes we deal with one another....even with Church...in the same way.

We expect people to be what we want or need them to be. And too often, we need them to be whatever way we want them to be...not for them...but for us. Perhaps you've experienced it yourelf? It's the veneer deep culture of being accepted on the basis of how well you meet other peoples' expectations.

Sound familiar? Our expectations are so often inwardly focused that it's hard for us to - not only allow someone to be who they are, but to celebrate that person and to let their uniqueness touch us, and perhaps even change us in a new and pehraps wonderful way.

How often do we place people in our lives at distances from us that relate to how much we like them...or God forbid...how much they do for us? how often do we treat people as though they were a consumer product that we use up and put down when we're done?

I think that we are called to embrace each other, not according to needs and expectations, but according who we really are......God loves us that way...just like we are.....and calls you and me to do the same. It's like going to the beach and loving what you find there.

Hmmmm. Something to think about while we gaze into the fog.

And the Church? What of the Church in all this?
How many of us approach church....or don't approach...it according to how well it gives us what we want? How often are we like consumers? Like customers who want to get what we pay for? How many times have pastors been told to do something a certain way or the teller will take his (or her) pledge and go elsewhere? Worse yet, sometimes we don't even pay and still want what we want.

It's not difficult to understand. After all, we live in a culture of consumerism and commidifcation. Everyone is a commodity and our job is to consume.

All these consumers looking for a spiritual pay off when all along the idea of Christian community is completely different. In fact, it's precisely the opposite of what the culture around us assumes for us.

God calls us into community, not to have our expectations met, but to have our hearts changed. God yearns for us, reaches out for us....not so that we can come and taylor the church according to our tastes...but rather so that God can change us from the inside out and name us as new Creations in Christ.

All this, of course, requires a willingness to go to the beach and embrace what you find there. Fog or no fog. It means that we are to open wide our arms and our hearts to one another and to dare to love each other, not in spite of our differences, but in, through, and even because of them.

And finally, it means that we are called into Christian community in order to let go of all the things we think are important so that we can fully embrace the new life that God has in mind for us.

Tall order, you say?
Maybe.

But I have to say that the Spirit of openness and new beginnings is moving here at Temple United Methodist Church. The Spirit of hope is blossoming. And the Spirit of love ranges wide and far as we discover together the new life that God has found for us in Christ.

So how about it?
Wanna go to the beach with me sometime? I could use the company.
And I could use a reminder to go there with a willingness to embrace as it is....

Grace, peace, and the courage to embrace both!

Pastor Schuyler

2004-05-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Friends,
Welcome to my new weblog, or blog.
I want to issue a special thanks to our web head, Geoff Gould, who went to the trouble to put this together and then to show me how it all works! It has been a yeoman's task, and it is appreciated.

This space won't pretend to an authority its author doesn't posess. It won't pronounce or announce. But hopefully, with grace and God's love to light the way, there will be some sharings of worth; some observations.

Today, May 28th, places us on the edge of Memorial Day. For me, the day is - appropriately - chock full of memories. Memorial Day would always start with going to the cemetery, where my Mom would place flowers on my Grandparents' grave. She would take quite a while at this, while we ran back and forth among the granite rows, playing tag.
Until I spent time putting flowers on her grave, I never understood why she took so long.

From the cemetery we would move, then, to the parade. How I loved that parade. It was, for me, the highlight of the yet unborn summer. The Memorial Day parade in Ballston Spa, NY was, for my six year old eyes, a spectacle unmatched in time and space. Riders on horse back would canter past in full cowboy regalia. The fire trucks and the marching band from the high school; the veterans all uniform'd and proud would all saunter by. Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Brownies would also stumble along craning their necks to find where their families were sitting. We crammed together at curbside with our aluminum folding chairs and sticky sweet gobs of cotton candy, and much too soon for my taste it was over.

I was much too young then to attach importance to grave yard visits or symbols of sacrifices made. It never occurred to me that the rifles the old vets carried by could actually end a human life. But I know different now. And while my memories are no more or less important than your own, I do note that the time for remembering has come 'round again. And it comes when there are many, many dead to honor.

My hope and prayer, as we fire up the bar-b-q and take off for long weekends in the sun, is that our memories of the dead and soon to die will spur us to actions for peace.

My fervent and soulful wish is that we will honor the dead enough to make sure that no more will die, that no more mothers may have to weep beside their children's caskets; that no more barely bearded young men will show up on the late night news as "killed in action."

It's Memorial Day weekend. Perhaps we can come together to create the most fitting memorial of all. Peace.

Keeping you all in prayer for the long haul....

Pastor Schuyler Rhodes

2004-05-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

Dear Temple Family,

I hope to be able to share with you on a regular basis here. Just bookmark this page, and check in from time-to-time.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Schuyler Rhodes