There was a time when...

This blog article will date me but with the rapidly graying of the hair that is left on my head, weakening eye sight and achy bones, why deny the fact that I am aging?  I grew up in a different world when it came to the holiday season.  I suppose that is why I am a ‘holiday purist.’  I believe in taking them one at a time.

When I had graduated high school in 1977, I worked two jobs.  I was an apprentice with Berkley Repertory Theater and a full time stock clerk at J. C. Penny.  Both were great entry level jobs.  I didn’t go to college right out of the shoot but rather hit life head on.  Learning to pay rent, cooking for myself, the whole nine yards.

At JC Penny, I was on the crew that was selected to set up all the Christmas decorations.  So what you may wonder?  Well, the so what was I had to come in on the morning of what is now called “Black Friday” at 3 am in the store to set up the decorations.   That is how old school I am when it comes to all of this.  We opened an hour earlier that day, at 8 am.

There was no confusion back then.  Each holiday had a specific purpose and there was general focus.  We celebrated Thanksgiving together as families.  Then we pulled out the decorations and went into the Christmas season.

Lines are blurred across the board now days.  It’s the effects that post modernism and the push by the merchandisers that has whittled down to the masses.  We now associate Thanksgiving with that day in the way of all the ‘hot deals’.  We are encouraged to get our running shoes on and put on our pushing gloves as we all head to the malls and box stores to find the great days now available on Thanksgiving evening.

It all greatly saddens me and is actually troubling to me on so many levels.  If I speak out against it I get the label ‘Grinch’ stuck to my forehead.

Recently the popular late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel ran a satirical piece in which he was mocking the media across the country who was trying to introduce the term “Brown Thursday”.  He mockingly said it already has name, its called Thanksgiving.

I will always be a holdout for Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for in my life its worth at least taking one day, brushing off all the other holiday hype and be singled focused.

The Christmas lights and tree go up the next day.   As it should be.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers and friends.

Clearing the pathway

"Beating around the bush", is something that I find as I age I do not like to do.  Perhaps its because I realize my time is running out, so to speak.  I do not like to waste the moments given to me.  When a situation rises I like to cut right to the chase and deal with the matter.

Some people might think that is abrupt.  Others may think its tactless.  Even others may agree with my tactics and become brave enough to give it a try.  What's weird is that usually thinking about confrontation chews me up on the inside.  Going down the path of exhortation is more of my daily journey now.

Often times the work I am involved in is messy.  Expectations get muddled.   Focus becomes blurred.  Whats' real is often mixed in with fantasy or worse, when its spiritualized and cloaked in "God speak."  My current job is to help others confirm their call.  That's serious, deadly business in a way.  I am dealing with holy matter here.  God's chosen.  Those whom He has called.  I am called along side with my team to add the confirmation.  Or to deny it.

Helping someone to face the need to be honest about their situation can be draining.  Because it always caused me to look inward.  The one finger point out and three pointing back at me sort of thing.

When it comes to my own heart and my own sin I found its best to be completely honest with God about it and with myself.  Its really pointless for me to even any attempt at running away from God.  I have spent way to much time with the stories of the Old Testament prophets to know that resistance is futile.

St John of the Cross, the 16th Century spiritual guide understood that both the intellect, memory and will are all 'faculties of the soul.'  That there is a need for the seeker of God to be instructed in all of these in order that purification of the soul can begin.

He writes, "The same has to be done for the other two faculties, memory and will.  They must undergo a purification relative to their respective apprehensions in order to reach union with God in perfect hope and charity."  (from The Ascent of Mt. Carmel)

What he is driving at here is the need to go deeper.  Memory must be looked at.  The will must be broken.  There is a process of clearing the pathway to the depths of our soul.  It begins with an honest examination.  When we are honest with our sin and short coming.  That we learn not to dance around the matters of the heart but rather allowing God to make straight the paths in our inward parts.

Removing debris in my own heart only begins when I am honest with myself and when I allow others to be honest with me.  Spiritual exhortation goes beyond the small talk of 'scripture coasters' but rather seeps into the recesses of the places God really wants to clear out.

My favorite phrase these days is simply:  To him/her who has ears to hear...listen.

More than just a hired hand

The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. (John 10:13 NLT)

I was sharing with some of our cooking staff the other day some of the jobs I used to do before I became an officer.  When I was in high school I worked for a pizza restaurant that served fancy Italian dinners besides pizza.  My job was officially dishwasher though I bused tables and did food prep.  Each night near closing time, the cooks would haul back to me a huge pot we affectionally  called "Big Bertha."

Bertha was used to cook sauce all day long.  Early in the morning the cooks would put this pot on the stove and allow the pizza sauce to percolate all day long.  When the pot came to me it was my job to get it cleaned and ready for the next day.  It always took 15 minutes or more to clean this thing.  At the bottom of the pot on average there would be a two inch thick crust of tomato sauce that would need to be scrubbed away.

It was a frustrating pot to clean but that was my job.  I stuck to it each night.  If I didn't, I would be out of a job.

I have never forgotten "Big Bertha" for she taught me many lessons that stick with me until this day.  One of the main lessons is that of being persistent.  Not turning away when things get difficult or adversity comes my way.

There is a danger in 'professional ministry' to begin to work at this work merely as a job or means to an end.  The divine call can quickly fade when all of the lights are not shining on you any more and things get dark and difficult.

I currently work with individuals who have given their lives up to God.  Full surrender.  "Here am I my Lord, send me."  Hand to the plow and no looking back.

But that doesn't mean perfection comes instantly upon them or that no doubt never enters into their minds if they did choose the right way.  That's part of the process.

I have had many "Big Bertha" pots handed to me in my three decades plus of service as a minister.  I have wanted to run away.  I have doubted if this was God "really" was calling me to.  I often didn't "feel" good or right or holy or whatever in those dark moments.

But I am not a hired hand.  I do not do this work because of job security and the chance to roam the world.  Each day I look at the covenant I made and signed with God so many years ago and am reminded that this work I am involved in is truly His work.

Through thick and thin God continues to make a way in my life.   And so when another "Big Bertha" situation comes my way, I seek for divine guidance and strength to make my way through the tasks that lie ahead.

Here we gooooo!

Today marks the start of my eighth year at the College for Officer Training in the Western Territory.  I have been reflecting about this over the past few weeks for several years.

I haven't done the math all the way but this means a few things for me:

I have been involved in the training of nine sessions of Cadets
There have been over 300 people that have come on campus to be trained since that time.  Not all of them made it to the starting line but a good majority have.  Thats almost half of the active officer statistics today in our territory.
I have been through two accreditation renewal processes.
I have worked with two other training principals as their assistant.  Both went on to become Divisional Commanders
I am the only staff officer left from the time I started in 2006.
This is the longest I have ever lived in one place in my entire life. (we did move a house over - the view was just too tempting!)
Two of my children have graduated from PV High Schools, one starts her junior year next week (she was in the 4th grade when we moved here from San Diego) One graduated college, got married and moved to New York.  The other did TV & commercials and is working consistently in a trade.
Many changes have been made to the facilities - new apartments, refurbished offices, classrooms added, library redone, new paint, add ons to quarters, new carpet, 'smart boards',.
Staff has increased while the budget has pretty much  remained even.
Crestmont Council is stronger than ever with some terrific men and women working side by side with us here, guiding this ship.
New curriculum has been added with an emphasis in recovery ministry, EDS (emergency disaster service)
Cadets (students) have been sent to places for training we have not ventured into in decades.
The  Cadet population has gone from 30 to over 100 living on campus in those 8 years.
Countless people have come to know God through the ministry of the Cadets

I am sure if I give this more thought the items on this list would grow.

What I have noticed in my time here is that there are people who embrace this experience and those who resist it.  That is all part of the process.

So today we start another round.  And even before these new Cadets cross the threshold of Crestmont, I ask myself the question, "Who is ready to step across the threshold next year?"  Who is ready to follow, serve and repeat after Isaiah, "Here am I, my Lord, send me."?

God bless the Heralds of Grace and the Disciples of the Cross.  Stay humble.  Thirst after righteousness.  Study to show yourself approved.  Serve The Lord with a glad heart.

In the mundane

"Pastoral work...is that aspect of Christianity that specializes in the ordinary." ~ Eugene Peterson

There are two words that I have been mulling over in the past two months:  longevity and humility.  To be able to stick at a task for some time takes a great amount of grit and fortitude.  Unfortunately many have been conditioned to bail out when times get tough or the tasks seem beneath them.  "I am greater for this" can sometimes be a huge stone the trips the spiritual giants amongst us.

We get antsy.  We begin to look for more greener and grander pastures instead of really keeping focused on the ground God has placed us to till and massage.  Its probably the biggest temptation an officer faces.

My current position within the Salvation Army forces me to do quite a bit of personal introspection.  I am asked for vision and direction a lot, whether it is from the Cadets, the staff, or the board.  I am the only officer on staff that gets the privilege of being reviewed 360 degrees from Crestmont Council.  My goals and vision are often taken under the microscope.  I have to be very intentional in seeking where we should be going and think out the process of how we get there.

This year the words of longevity and humility keep coming up in my thoughts when I am either still or active.  Perhaps longevity because I have started my eighth year at Crestmont (9 sessions now I will have been involved in some manner of the training.)  Humility because each day I am reminded the task I have been called to do is way over my head and I need daily grounding to get things done.

Most work in a pastoral setting is mundane.  We train individuals not to go to particular locations or even for specialized tasks.  Our curriculum is centered towards general matters, which leads often to the comment, "They didn't teach me that in training college."  To be fair, there is only so much one can soak in during a 22 month period.  I remember I must have been sick or asleep the day I was taught how to open and operate an Ice Arena.  That was missing from my training in 1980-82.  (see Kroc Center 101...non existent in the catalog in 1980)

Our task is to get these folks ready for the ordinary.  Its really how God works best.  Day in and day out.  Finding the rthymns of life in 'four four time' (see A River Runs Thru It.)

Honor the every day.  Seek to make it as long as you can and do so with a humble heart.

I know these two words may begin to get stuck in the crawl of Cadets as they will probably hear it over and over too many times this coming year.  But I am not saying the words for them.  I am saying them for me.  I am listening for the whispers of God in the mundane and focusing on the grace I can find in the ordinary.

A new good addiction - try it

I have a new addiction:  I keep adding bible reading plans from the digital version of the scriptures found in "You Vision".   I started a comprehensive reading plan when I was on a silent retreat in May.  I loved the title of the plan:  Eat this book.   Its actually a command given by God to the prophet Ezekiel. (plus its a great title of a wonderful book written by Eugene Peterson)

So for my quiet time each morning I am reading through the Bible with a psalm.  I am using the New Living Translation (for the version smug ones out there - you ought to try it - it makes the word pop to life in a devotional reading.)  I read a short devotional from the Life Application bible.  I read a chapter of Proverbs a day.  And then I close off my reading time with a devotion from Billy Graham's classic - Day by Day.

I like what Dr. Graham has to say to me today:  "Some time ago a policeman asked me what the secret of victorious living was. I told him that there is no magic formula that can be pronounced. If any word could describe it, I would say surrender. The second word I would say would be devotion. Nothing can take the place of a daily devotional life with Christ. Your quiet time, your prayer time, the time you spend in the Word, is absolutely essential for a happy Christian life. You cannot possibly be a happy, dynamic, and powerful Christian apart from a daily walk with Christ."

Its amazing how much Bible ignorance and apathy there is in the church today.  We have not problem standing for several minutes (sometimes over 30) to sing worship songs, but to stand in reverance for the reading of God's word (see Ezra) that isn't automatic.   Even Christians who have been walking with The Lord for a very long time can easily lose focus and get discouraged (I am talking about myself here).

Without God's word part of my daily spiritual diet I am destined to inherit a dry, dead soul.  My prayer life becomes listless.  And certainly there is no joy to be found.

Join me in a re-committment of reading God's word each day.  Don't approach your devotional time as some sort of 'spiritual rabbits foot' (as if doing it or not doing it determines how your day will be, the 'things' you can get from God, etc.) but rather as a time where God can get a hold of your soul and quietly speak to you.

Its a new addiction that I can assure you will change your life for the good.

Flurry & Worry

In some of my recent reading I  ran across a great reminder from John Oman about the 'twin perils of ministry':  Flurry and worry.

Often time in this engagement in the 'souls of humankind', I can begin to think more highly of myself than I should.  Confession time here.  When I found myself in the midst of the whirl and buzz of establishing the Kroc Center ministry in the early days, I thought that I was so inseperable to the process.  This place surely couldn't operate successfully without me around.   Then I went off to England for 8 weeks at ICO.   Funny how the whole place didn't shut down.  In fact I called back once during a staff meeting and found out they were all doing fine without me.

This summer I was able to visit Kroc Centers in Chicago, Camden, New Jersey and Philadelphia, PA. It seems the Kroc Center ministry nationwide is just doing super fantastic without my hands getting in the way.

Learning to how to be quiet and sit still to be attuned with God is something not on our natural 'spiritual front burners.'  We can make the sad mistake in thinking that we must be and look so busy doing 'godly things' - we flurry about and then become so consumed with our worry - we basically then become ineffective.

I was invited to preach recently in the pulpit of one of my past Corps assignments, Mesa, Arizona.  As I stood in the pulpit getting ready to preach, a flood of memories came back.  But the one thing that came right to the top of my mind was that this place was functioning and moving along in ministry quite well without me at the helm any more.   That is actually biblical.  Equipping the saints for the work of the ministry so that it isn't all about me.

What sort of flurry are you involved in?  Looking busy to impress or do you slow down to listen?  Oman says that flurry disapates energy while worry constipates it.

Are you pausing long enough in the processes of life to listen to God?  To do often some self regulation on your own ego?

I need to pause more in my life and have the constant reminder that its 'not about me' but all about Him.   If I am in constant motion then I will never get out of the fog that flurry and worry makes for my soul.