VOTING FOR A DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT IN OHIO

Last Sunday evening, I attended a banquet in my city attended by several hundred Muslims. It was the 6th annual gathering (report, fund-raiser, inspiration, maybe not too different than our upcoming District Council) of the Council on American Islamic Relations, Cleveland Chapter. One of the guest speakers, Imam Johari Abdul Malik, in his talk entitled Persevering in Difficult Times observed (and I paraphrase and summarize) that as individuals, Muslim people are intelligent, disciplined, moral, financially conservative then generous with the excess. I would agree with him based on the friends and neighbors I know who are Muslim and the gracious people with whom the 3 of us shared a table that evening. The Imam went on to relate that other organizations are stronger only because they have more institutional strength than the sum of their individual members. (He had my attention.) He then encouraged his listeners to unite and bring their individual strength together.

As I often do, I came away saying “search me, O God, and see… in me” (Psalm 129:34 from the Bible). I asked my Lord Christ Jesus what He wanted me to do as a result of what I heard. I was challenged to not only continue praying for our upcoming election of a new District Superintendent in our organization, but to be less concerned about the one man who gets elected, and more concerned about the 428 of us who don’t get elected.

It is good to discuss the qualities we want in our next leader. But what if 100% of ordained ministers in our organization in Ohio committed to these qualities over the next four years:

1) Lovingly care for and mentor our staff members and younger pastors in our circle; foster mentoring relationships for ourselves
2) Participate in a monthly peer group of colleagues for prayer, growth, accountability and personal health
3) Voluntarily stay current on our personal dues/tithe so no resources or resolutions are needed to collect them
4) Be a positive participant in our section and district (whether by elected position, influence, or just seeing the need)
5) Initiate hosting our district’s missionaries and aggressively lead our churches (and by personal example) in supporting missions.
6) Stay current on reports (if required) and quickly ask for help when needed so problems don’t compound
7) Pray regularly for our district leaders and show them grace as people with feet of clay.

After all, isn’t that what we long for from our own congregations? Maybe then, the District Superintendent could focus all of his energy and attention (with all of our help) on the “duties” described for him in our bylaws, Article III, Section 1. Paragraph a. (again I’ll paraphrase) which is to promote and coordinate efforts toward worshipping God, encouraging God’s followers and giving people around the world a chance to personally know The Lord Christ Jesus.

A salute to my dear friend, BOB SCHUH

This morning as I walked toward the door of my apartment to get the Plain Dealer, I began to tear up knowing that today's newspaper would contain the obituary of my dear friend, Bob Schuh.

Bob understood what it meant to live life abundantly (John 10:10). He knew how to have fun whether it was eating pie at Baker Square with a table full of teenagers, celebrating his 80th birthday party in his own backyard, or being the social butterfly at a wedding reception.

Bob would talk openly about his mistakes as a young man and how Christ changed his life when he became a Christian. Maybe that's what helped him to always exemplifying holiness, yet never be judgmental toward others. Bob was a friend to pastors over the years and a fan of women in ministry. It didn’t take much prodding to hear a story about the late Kathryn Kuhlman or his beloved late wife, Vera, who he often bragged about as an excellent youth director for years. (Wouldn’t you love to hear the conversations in heaven today!)

Bob knew what was worth crying over--missionaries, affirming teenagers who were living for Christ, prayer meetings, and being careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit. You could count on Bob to walk away from gossip, small thinking and pettiness yet speak the truth straight when needed. He was gentleman in every way and a great example of a man of God who loved his Lord and loved people generously.

Yesterday, I took down to read again the birthday card Bob sent me this past July. I've been carrying it in the sun visor of my car since July ... just as a reminder of the richness in my life. That card is now priceless. Im so grateful for the mantel of prayer Bob carried for me and for Rockside Church.

Our last visit together, I invited Bob to lunch to celebrate his 84th birthday, yes, at Baker Square, topped off with pie. It was September 13. We had to go early because his daughter, Lenora's family was coming in from Virginia for a visit and he wouldn't be available on his birthday. Bob was coaching me on how to welcome and foster the presence of the Holy Spirit in my church, but first in my life. The conversation lead to Bob singing four lines of an old song and both of us wiping our tears. The words were...

Shut in with God in a secret place
There in the spirit beholding His face
Gaining more power to run in life's race
I long to be shut in with God

I will cherish our times together and pray I can carry forward what Bob has has taught me, both by his words and his example. Bob, thank you for being such a great example of a Christian leader and a great friend to so many of us. We will miss you dearly! Can't you just hear him saying in his typical way, “I’ll miss ya too, love.” Heaven just got a little bit richer this week!

Christmas Caroles through new eyes and ears

Have you ever allowed something very precious to lose its value because of familiarity? I think I had done that with Christmas Carols. In our family, singing and guitar playing are regular parts of our gatherings, but sometimes so regular that we no longer bother. Around the church scene, carols can be a pain to musicians because they are so stinking difficult to play. This year, I was awakened to a fresh appreciation for Christmas carols and their rich content.

We spent time in our "English Second Language" class learning Christmas carols because our international friends wanted to learn American songs. I took my guitar to our Christmas party and you should have heard the singing and felt the joy of this group of singers. What a choir!

Then the Saturday following Christmas, I attended a friend's wedding at St. Stan’s on E. 65th Street in Cleveland. The program called for us to sing all four verses of several carols .... accompanied by a mammoth pipe organ surrounded by the most beautiful decorations I have seen. Majestic is the word that comes to mind.

Thank God for fresh eyes and ears and friends who help me see and hear!

ROB BELL, LIVE IN CLEVELAND!

Tonight I had the chance to hear ROB BELL www.marshill.org in person at the Allen Theater with a friend. I was impressed that it was a sell out crowd when I saw no advertising done for this event anywhere in Cleveland. There was nothing in the PLAIN DEALER, no mailer to area churches, nothing on the radio. It was all word of mouth. I stumbled across it on Rob Bell’s web site while downloading a service and checking out the NOOMA videos.

The event was so clean. There was no “opening act”, no announcements, no “preliminaries”. He just came out and started talking and captivated the audience for an hour and 48 minutes. What an excellent communicator. He started in Genesis and progressed through to Hebrews. His presentation was very authentic and inspiring, not religious or churchie or offensive, unless maybe to the churchie at times like when he jokingly said "flannelgraph that!". He wasted no time or words.

My take-away from the night? Hmmmm… I walked away challenged to look at any gods that might have crept into my life; challenged to embrace what God has done to redeem me rather than striving to get in His good favor. Rob shared that his friend kept saying throughout their visit at a restaurant (after he was pastoring a growing church), “you don’t have to live this way anymore”. That was a freeing statement and sometimes, even as Christians, we need to hear that.

One of the best treats was that out of the hundreds of people in the audience I turned to see that the people with tickets to the seats next to me were Bryan and Carolyn Karas (the newlyweds!). Bryan http://www.bryankaras.com/ was our worship leader and ministry intern at Rockside Church in our earlier days. He's now he’s the worship/arts pastor at 707 http://www.sevenoseven.com/ and is presenting the message next Sunday, December 9 at 7:00 PM. Check him out if you’re free. It was so great to see them and sit next them tonight. Love you guys!

The conclusion was so compelling and the presentation of the gospel had been so clearly presented. I only wondered what it would have hurt to turn the direction to the audience for a “what about you?” type of reflection. I know people are on a continuum toward Christ and many decisions are made after people leave. I’m sure Rob Bell has given careful thought to the entire presentation including his decision to NOT guide people toward a decision. No doubt there were people ready to say yes to Christ in one form or another if even privately. I just wonder if the searching listener could be better served one degree further on their journey toward Christ if given some sort of direction toward that end. If you have an opinion about that, I’d love to hear it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

The shining light in the background isn’t anything spiritual. It’s the glare off the jumbo score board at the Quicken Loans Arena at Tuesday’s Cleveland Cavs game. They lost (needlessly) to the Milwaukee Bucks, but the day was a winner for me because I got to spend it with my mom. It was her first pro basketball game. She was a cheerleader in high school so understands the basics of the game and, well, still has quite a bit of “scream” in her I found out!

I’m proud of my mom for her willingness to try new things like getting her ears pierced, using a blue tooth and trying Indian food. When our dad passed away, my sisters and I saw Mom step up with courage to do a lot of things for the first time like writing checks (which she is really good at now), calling a plumber, driving to visit us by herself and so much more. I’m thankful for my mother, for the benevolent way she cares well for people, for her sense of humor, for the ways she has always made the holidays special, for her uncomplicated and growing relationship with Jesus Christ and for being my mom. I love you, Mom!

A DAY WITH DAN SMITH AND DA BAND!

Yesterday our church merged with 6 other churches and 3 organizations to host DAN SMITH and MOMENTUM BAND. They did school assemblies in the day time then a CONCERT and COMEDY event in the evening at the Independence High School with free pizza and pop.

My takeaway from the day?

1) Well, I was reminded how much I love teenagers and love seeing them have a chance to make good choices and know God better.

2) I was so encouraged by the number of adults I met (pastors, principals, public servants, parents) who deeply care about students too and share that same desire.

3) Dan Smith http://whiteboydj.com/home.html is a really funny guy but more than that, he and his wife Shannon, and their team, James and Christine Fruits and the crew, have such great attitudes and humble hearts. I felt like a made a lot of really wonderful friends yesterday. It was an awesome day!

SOAK IT IN LIKE A SPONGE!

This past Sunday was a great day for me because my profession happens to have an “appreciation day” that was recognized. (I hope yours does, too). My leadership team led the way in passing the microphone around and letting people who wanted to say words of personal appreciation. At first, I’ll admit I was a bit uncomfortable with it, maybe a tad embarrassed. But as the first person began to talk, I thought, “no, I’m going to soak this in and enjoy it!” Is that a crazy thought or what? :-) As different ones shared, I felt like a dry sponge just soaking in a needed refreshing. Each person’s words were special because of who was speaking and the relationship I have with that particular person.

Most pain in life happens in the context of relationships. So doesn't it just makes sense that restoration and refreshing also happen in the context of relationship? May we all be more intentional to see the power of words of affirmation, both giving and receiving, work to restore and refresh. Thanks, guys, (you know who you are) for your kind words. I love you and appreciate you too!