Pack up your troubles

This past weekend I took Jon on his first backpacking trip along with my friend Cal and his 14 year-old son Brody. We went to Ha Ha Tonka state park. We got there around 11:30 and then waited for about an hour and a half for Cal to arrive (ahem :o). We checked out the "castle," the natural bridge, the spring and the island, totaling about three miles of walking.

Then we donned backpacks and took off on the Turkey Pen Hollow trail. We backpacked about three miles the first day, in 95 degree heat (what was it that Noël Coward said?) We were trying to get at least to the halfway point before camping, and finally found a place at three miles in, which was good because Cal was promptly overcome with heat sickness (the result of not drinking enough water). We set up camp and enjoyed the ticks (lots - they bothered Cal and Brody more because their repellent was DEET-free, whereas I believe in applying poison to my skin and clothes to avoid Lyme disease), heat and humidity until it was time to pass out from exhaustion, sung to sleep by a whippoorwill. I'd estimate our total mileage for the day at about six miles, three with packs.

Sunday we got up early to get going before it got hot and were on the trail by 7:00 and at the trailhead by a little after eight, with another 2+ miles under our belts. We then went and did a trail to the River Cave and around another dolomite glade, to bring the total mileage for the weekend close to nine miles. Then off to Camdenton to have breakfast (Southwestern omelet, thanks for asking), and home.

Jon did really well, considering the heat, although he did suffer some while backpacking because his pack didn't fit right at all (not surprising, it's never fit me, either). But after it was all over and done he said he'd like to do it again. So I'd say that's about as good an endorsement as I can hope for.

Here's a map of the backpacking portion of the weekend, thanks to the GPS software in my Droid phone (you may have to wait up to half a minute for the actual trail markers to show up):


View Larger Map

And here are some pictures I took. Cal took a lot more, and I am waiting for them so I can add them to the album.

Loss leader

Dan's been blogging about "strengths-based leadership," and it's been interesting. He was initially hesitant about the concept, and noted:

I wasn't at all looking forward to reading it, because it looked like it was a thick book, and I'm also just not all that excited about books on leadership, especially books that come at it from more of a business sense. This is not a "Christian" book, but a book for organizational leaders of any kind.

...and:

The real challenge with books like this, though, is that a small-church setting is not at all like a business setting. Businesses can hire the right people; small churches pretty much need to make do with what we have, and what we often have are a lot of people who want nothing to do with leading of any kind. So to some degree these types of books ultimately do lead to some frustration for people like myself. But I'm trying to stay positive. I ultimately believe God will provide for the church exactly what she needs. What we often need most is a little more faith in Him.

He and I have been having an email discussion about "leadership" in the church, and it's been a good back-and-forth. As part of that I've realized that even while (perhaps) admitting to the need for leaders in any organization, including a church, I am naturally resistant to the term "leader," especially in church. As I wrote to Dan:

I wonder if what we really need are new terms? Because I think the words mean different things to you than they do to me, or resonate differently, or something. For ex., I have an aversion to the term "leader" in a church context. I mean, when I think "leader" I don't think of you or Tom or even the pastor of our (10x larger) church - I think of some megachurch media personality with slicked-back hair seemingly interested in nothing other than "growth." Ugh (and yes, it's an unfair stereotyped prejudice).

The other thing that comes to mind is Fearless Leader from Rocky and Bullwinkle.

So, I was thinking about alternatives to "leader," and came up with the following list:

• Pastor (which comes from the Latin term for shepherd)
• Mentor
• Coach
• Counselor
• Teacher
• Enabler
• Equiper
• Missionary
• Communicator
• Healer
• Visionary

Obviously, someone filling some or all of these roles in any organization may very well be a "leader." It is just my hangup that when it comes to church - which I believe should be the "Un-Organization" (not to say unorganized) and show us a different way of gathering, communing and working - the word "leader" doesn't sit well with me. Not to get into a prooftext war, but:

Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

- Matthew 23:10 (NASB)

What do you think? Dan (and Tom; I know you're working through the same leadership exercise as Dan), fire away!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

[With apologies to David Bowie.]

Last weekend I attended my first class at the Missouri School of Religion and Erin had her confirmation at Faith. Yesterday Les had a great job interview that is leaving us with our fingers crossed. Tonight is her "pinning" ceremony at school. This Sunday Erin graduates from eighth grade at Trinity along with her cousin Will, making them the third generation to do so in Les's family. Les will also have her NCLEX to pass, hopefully before the end of the month but the scheduling of that is iffy and based on the Missouri Board of Nursing's speed in processing the apps. Oh, and there's some other interesting stuff going on, too - more about that at a later date. So while all of this is positive, both Les and I will be happy when this month is over.

Interesting times. I believe the correct word is "eustress."

Nudge, nudge, know what I mean?

This past weekend I attended my first course at the Missouri School of Religion ("MSR"). The school is sponsored by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), but is pretty ecumenical in nature (as are the Disciples), with people from other denominations both teaching and attending. The course was Understanding the Bible, and they recommend it as background for anyone interested in taking their certificate program. It was a short course held on Friday night and Saturday day, and is obviously not meant to be exhaustive, but instead to simply give a grounding in the Bible, it's organization, background, history, "story arc," etc. Our teacher was the head of the MSR, Rev. Fran Schnarre, who I liked a lot.

The course was held at the Rickman Conference Center on the southern outskirts of Jefferson City. Even though the Rickman Center is in town I decided to stay overnight there instead of going home, to be part of the group, participate in breakfast, etc., and I am glad I did. It allowed me to be more "immersed" in the process. I also used it as an opportunity to have another Sabbath Manifesto weekend and actually stayed electron-free from Friday night through Sunday night, except for using my phone as a camera a few times. I took a walk around the grounds early Saturday morning:

An outside chapel on the grounds.

The main building and lodge.

It's a great place and reminds me a bit of the church summer camp I went to as a kid (they do summer camps in the cabins at the center, too). They're open to use by any church in the area and I am going to spread the word.

The course covered seven topics:

• What's the Story - Major themes of the Bible
• Problems of Interpretation - Different methods of interpreting scripture and why it matters
• The Timeline and Geography of the Bible - Who, what, when and where
• The Shape of the Canon - Formation, types of literature and arrangement
• Historical-Critical Methods of Biblical Studies - How scholars consider the scripture
• Pulling it Together and Diving in - Beginning exegesis
• Resources - Books and other resources for studying the Bible

Obviously that's a lot of ground to cover in about ten hours! The class was small (three students - there were supposed to be four but apparently one forgot about it). The small size helped us to cover the material but also meant missing out on additional viewpoints during discussion. There was another MSR class going on the same weekend, on Utilizing Church Conflict which had about seven students in it. We all ate breakfast and lunch together.

Following are some of the things I learned/liked from the course. First, a good snippet from the workbook:

"We all make distinctions about the degrees of authority with which we endow a scripture. What levels of authority do you give the following quotes, all attributed to the Apostle Paul?

1. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus at Troas, and the books, above all my notebooks. 2 Timothy 4:13

2. I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves! Galations 5:12

3. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39"

One thing Fran said that really struck me and stuck with me while discussing the above quotes is that when we're reading the Epistles we should never forget we are "reading other people's mail." Those letters were aimed at a specific church at a specific time, and while there are components of the letters that can be applied to other churches and other times, there are some parts that really are "other people's mail" and don't concern us much, except perhaps to prove the humanness of all involved.

Another extract from the workbook (emphasis in the original):

"Dr. Clint McCann was the instructor of the Biblical Theology class in which I was enrolled in 1999 at Eden Seminary. He said he sees the Bible as incarnational, that is, like Jesus, fully human and fully divine. (Lecture notes, fall 1999)."

I like that.

Here's a quote on the "divine inspiration" of the Bible from one of the resource books:

"Instead of thinking of inspiration as something that occurred between God and one writer it is better to think of inspiration as occurring between God and each member of the community. The Bible from the beginning to end is the product of God's acting in and through God's people. God's inspiration, God's acting in the hearts and minds of people, was present at every stage of the growth process that resulted in the Bible.

At the time of the event, it was God's inspiration that allowed the people to experience and interpret the event as religious. Those who were moved to speak and write about their experiences were inspired. Those who were moved to pass on, reinterpret and make contemporary the lessons from the past were inspired. The communities that accepted and responded to these written works...were inspired. A reader today who reads scripture, who finds that it speaks to his or her heart, who allows it to take root, to form conscience, to shape action, is also inspired. God acts in and through God's people. God breathes in and with them. God inspires them. The Bible is a fruit and a channel of inspiration." 

- Margaret Nutting Ralph, "And God Said What?"

Then there's the term "Wesleyan Quadrilateral," which I had never heard before, and is a tool or thought process for interpreting the Bible by asking, "What does:

1. Scripture
2. Tradition
3. Reason
4. Experience

...say about it?" It's not a way to add new sources for theological truth, but is more simply an acknowledgment of how we all do interpret Scripture and that these are the tools with which we do it.

An unattributed quote from the workbook:

"About other literature we have opinions, about Scripture we have convictions!"

Finally, on the way home I went to Barnes & Noble and along with Mother's Day gifts for Les and both our mothers I bought one of the books recommended as a resource, Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading by Eugene Peterson of The Message fame. It looks interesting.

That's enough for now, maybe more later as I digest it all. I am definitely looking to attend another class, probably the three month History of the Christian Faith course starting in June. They will meet one weekend every month for two or three days. I don't know if I'll pursue the certificate, but I am going to take it one step at a time. Pastor Fran said one of her congregation members has introduced a word into their vocabulary at her church, where he gets "nudged" by the Spirit. I don't think I feel "called," but something has been "nudging" me toward the MSR from the very beginning when I discovered their Web site purely by accident (they are the best-kept secret in Jefferson City). "Nudged" doesn't seem quite a scary as "called." Let's just leave it at that.

A day at the races

Yesterday we went to Little Olympics, a track and field event for fourth and fifth graders in the public and parochial schools in the Jefferson City "greater metropolitan area." Fifteen schools participated. We were there from 9:00 am for the girls events until after 3:00 pm by the time the boys events were finished. The weather ranged from cloudy, cold and windy, to rain, to clearing off and almost hot. In the process, I forgot that you can actually get worse sunburn on a cloudy (and cool) day than on a clear, hot one, so my face is pretty red.

Both Gloria and Jon did great. Gloria placed sixth out of about 60 fifth grade girls in broad jump with a jump of 6' ½". Jon placed second (again, out of close to 60 fifth grade jumpers) in broad jump with a jump of 7' 1½"! And then his relay team went on to take first place out of 15 schools. They announced Trinity as second during the event, but the paper says they were first with a winning time of 36.78s, and we're gonna take it!

It was a typical track meet with a lot of the usual hurry-up-and-wait, especially during the afternoon, where there was a long delay before they finally decided to rerun a leg of sprints because apparently they couldn't make head nor tails over the times for the original run. Can't say I was interested the entire time. However, it was very cool to see both Gloria and Jon do so well and see their pride in themselves, and have other people tell them what a good job they'd done. So it was worth it, even the sunburn.

Below are some pics from the event.