A Theology of the Spirit for Emerging Churches

Greetings All,

I have been reading a book by Ray S. Anderson called An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches where he is trying to establish a theological foundation for the practice of ministry in the emerging church movement.  The emerging church movement is busy doing the work of ministry and Anderson wants to provide them with the theological basis for "why" they are doing it in a way that can inform "how" they are doing it.  This mornings chapter was titled "It's About the Community of the Spirit, Not Just the Gifts of the Spirit," and in it he is trying to establish a vibrant theology of the Spirit from which we can build ministering communities.  He closes each chapter with a non-theological postscript as a sort of accessible summarizing of the information provide and today's really struck me and I wanted to share it with you.  So here it is, you can find it on pages 175-177.

"I know that my own spirit is too tame when it should be adventurous.  My spirit can be too impulsive and sometimes brash when it should be measured and modest.  My spirit can waver in doubt and uncertainty when I should be brave and bold.  This is why I ask for the Holy Spirit to come beside my spirit, not to take my place but to make my place more resemble a home where Jesus lives than a college dormitory.   This is the Spirit I seek when I pray "Spirit of God, descend on my heart."

I don't want the Spirit of God to startle me in the middle of the night when I need rest.  I don't want the Spirit of God to make me anxious in order to seek first the kingdom of God.  I don't want the Spirit of God to make me bark like a dog or laugh like a hyena in order to fulfill a craving for more of God.  On the other hand, there is something I desire in being filled with the Spirit, and that is captured in the poignant words of the psalmist:

"I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child that is within me. (Psalm 121:2-3)"

I am not sure that I want to go through the weaning process - nor am I sure that God wants to go through it with me!  The parent suffers more than the child, I suspect.  To be weaned from the kind of relationship with God where my needs for gratification demand his immediate response is to walk alone, it seems.  But Jesus went through that process, first in being weaned from the breast of his mother, and then from the power of God as a form of temptation.  It was, after all, the Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1).

 The Spirit of Jesus is a weaned Spirit, no longer demanding to be fed but returning once more to the Father.  My spirit is still too restless.  I want every prayer to be answered.  I want to keep praying even when there is no answer.  In the end, I want to be able to trust God to hold my unanswered prayers like letters from a separated lover, close to his bosom.  This is the Spirit of my prayer.

I do not expect the church to meet my every need.  The church can and should provide the kind of body life where the Spirit can reveal to each of us our own particular needs.  If I am weak in faith, I need to be in a church where I am not required to profess more faith than I have.  Rather, I need the freedom and security to express my faith deficiency with the expectation that I can draw on the faith of others as a stimulus for my own growth in faith.  If I am starved for love, it may indicate that I have a love deficiency in myself rather than lack of others to love me.  The Holy Spirit knows what I need, and he will, through the loving care and concern of others, prompt me to grow more in love through a body life where love is expressed generously and openly.

Nutritionists remind us that there are essential ingredients in our daily diet that are necessary to maintain good health.  Consumer protection laws have been enacted that require labels on food products that help the purchaser make good decisions about his or her food purchases.  Here, rather than a prescription that offers a remedy for some distress or dysfunction (though that is still a good idea!), we should each develop our own nutritional guideline that contains the essential ingredients for our spiritual life and growth.  It is not the quantity but the quality of food intake that is necessary for our health.  A person can suffer serious malnutrition with a full stomach!  I have know people who have been so preoccupied with church activities that they are literally full of religion but starving themselves spiritually.

I have come to the conclusion that an individual is not given a gift of the Spirit because he or she needs it but because the community of the Spirit needs the individual.  I do not seek a spiritual gift because I need one to be more spiritual.  I need to belong to a community that needs me and needs the gifts that I can bring to the service of Christ within the community.  I need to belong to a community that needs me.

A spiritual gift is not an honorary title but a subpoena of the Holy Spirit issued by the body of Christ to fulfill a task or responsibility.   Just because it is a gift I should not assume that it will not cost me something to use it.  The exercise of a spiritual gift will require my time and energy that could otherwise be used for my own benefit or for the welfare of family and friends who look to me for support.  This is why the community of the Spirit needs to have the Spirit's wisdom in distribution of the gifts.  The gifts of the Spirit yoke us to Christ, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30).  When we become burdened in our exercising of a spiritual gift, it is no longer a gift that brings a blessing to ourselves but a duty that bruises our spirit.

When the body of Christ of which I am a part reaches out for someone to fill a need, I respond by saying "I can do that."  It's that simple.  And I am convinced it was that simple for Paul.  His analogy of the human body works very well here.  If I need to taste something to determine if it is ready to eat, my tongue says "I can do that."  If I need to look at a page in a book in order to read it, my eyes say "We can do that."  If I have some toxic waste in my blood that needs to be filtered out, my kidneys say "We can do that."  I won't press the analogy any further!

The point is, the community of the Spirit, not just the gifts of the Spirit, is what emerging churches are about.  If the community is alive in the Spirit and the members are allowing the Spirit that birthed them into Christ to flow into every nook and cranny of their lives, and to conform their human spirits to the Spirit of Christ within them, there will be as many gifts as the body needs, no more, no less."

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
published by Scribner in 1926

Summary and Review: It is difficult to summarize a book that has no plot, but that is exactly the kind of book The Sun Also Rises happens to be.  It is in essence the story of Jake and Brett, an Englishwoman and an American that have connected in Paris.  The book unveils the complexities of their lives with each other, with their friends Mike, Bill and Cohn, and with figuring out life and God and the future.  The book moves from Paris to Pamplona for the annual bull fighting festival that includes the running of the bulls and finally to Madrid. 

At its best the book tries to capture the disillusionment of the young generation that has just come through World War I as they try to discern who they are, what their moral and value system is going to be, and how to prioritize their lives for today or for the future.  At its worst the book is minimalist strings of dialogue where the reader gets lost halfway through the conversation and can no longer recognize who is speaking.  This has been historically hailed as one of Hemingway's best works, even called a masterpiece by some, but sitting here 86 years removed from its first publication I have to admit to struggling with the "greatness" of the book.  I did enjoy the read and the characters, but the book never captured me and pulled me into the story.  I was always an outsider looking in trying to figure out what was going on with the characters rather than being a companion on their journey. 

Now that may be a characteristic of classic writing that differs from more modern styles of which I have grown up with.  I think it is important for us to read the classics, not just in high school, but through out our lives so we can not only relate to the influential writings of past generations, but equally so we can see how the art of writing and the crafting of novels has evolved over the years.  I am curious to talk to someone in their sixties or seventies who read this book decades ago to hear their perception of the book.

Reading Recommendation: A reluctant yes, it is a classic and thus worth reading, but I do not find it to be a spectacular book where you will finish it thinking, "I am so glad I read this book."

Look at Me.....Not!

Greetings All,

Let's begin with Scripture once again reading from the Book of Deuteronomy:

NLT

Deuteronomy 8:7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with springs that gush forth in the valleys and hills. ⁸ It is a land of wheat and barley, of grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, olives, and honey. ⁹ It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. ¹⁰ When you have eaten your fill, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ "But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws. ¹² For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, ¹³ and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, ¹⁴ that is the time to be careful. Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. ¹⁵ Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! ¹⁶ He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. ¹⁷ He did it so you would never think that it was your own strength and energy that made you wealthy. ¹⁸ Always remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you power to become rich, and he does it to fulfill the covenant he made with your ancestors.

Moses has been giving a speech to the Israelites to prepare and encourage them to enter the Promised Land.  He begins by acknowledging how great a land this is that God has promised them and pointing them to the reality that when they move into the fullness of God's promise they will find themselves with plenty to eat, with nice houses and with flocks and wealth that seem to ever increase.  The reason for the acknowledgement is to present a warning.  Whether it is the Israelites or us, whenever we find ourselves in a comfortable and prosperous place we are faced with the great temptation to think, "Look what I have done!  Everyone, look at me and see how awesome I am!  I have worked hard and made myself rich!" 

We get in those comfortable spots and forget how God provided for us in the tough times which is the foundational evidence that it is Him that is providing for us in these prosperous times.  We want to believe that we did it, we earned and that we deserve it, but the truth is we didn't do it, God did; and we don't deserve it, for it is God's gracious gift.  Moses tells the Israelites that God has tested them in the wilderness so that they will never be tempted to say, "look at me!" nor be tempted to think they accomplished all of this in their own strength and energy. 

It is equally a message for us today.  The longer we walk the Christian walk, the more likely we are to find ourselves in a more prosperous life, but let us never be fooled to think that we have some how accomplished this, earned this or even deserve it.  God has done and incredible thing for us and we need to always give Him the credit.  It should never be the case that we say, "look at what we have done," and always the case that we say, "look at what God has done in our lives and through our lives!"

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Greetings All,

Let us start with Scripture again reading from The New English Bible:

"It is not by hearing the law, but by doing it, that men will be justified before God.  When Gentiles who do not possess the law carry out its precepts by the light of nature, then, although they have no law, they are their own law, for they display the effect of the law inscribed on their hearts."  Romans 2:14-15

One of our first reactions to reading this might be to ask if those who have not heard about Jesus can be saved if they have lived a life that reflects Christian principles?  The best answer I can give is "maybe," but that is not the pit I want to root around in this morning.  More than anything I want us to see the truth that Paul is proclaiming regarding the relation of our hearts and our lives.  Whether the question of the one who has not heard being saved or not is answered here, what is professed with great clarity is that when "the law is inscribed on our hearts" our lives will display the effects!  If we have embodied the truth of Christ in our heart, our lives will display that truth in the way we live, the way we love, the way we serve.  It is just another way of stating that when we truly allow Christ to transform our lives that we cannot help but live lives that make it easy for others to believe in Him.  Here Paul is letting us know that when our heart has been transformed by  the truth of God in Christ our lives will display the effects!  The question for each of us today then becomes, "What effects are we displaying?"

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Looking Back to Move Forward

Greetings All,

It seems that I have been a bit absent from blog posts for the last week.  I apologize, but I do have one to share with you today.  Let us begin with a scripture reading from Deuteronomy:

NLT

Deuteronomy 4:31 For the LORD your God is merciful-- he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors. ³² "Search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now. Then search from one end of the heavens to the other. See if anything as great as this has ever happened before. ³³ Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire-- as you did-- and survived? ³⁴ Has any other god taken one nation for himself by rescuing it from another by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, awesome power, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, right before your very eyes. ³⁵ "He showed you these things so you would realize that the LORD is God and that there is no other god. ³⁶ He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. ³⁷ Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants and personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. ³⁸ He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as a special possession, as it is today. ³⁹ So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other god!

This comes from the early parts of Deuteronomy where Moses has been recalling all that God has done for the Israelites and all that He has instructed them to do, but now he is preparing them to enter the promised land.  He has talked about land divisions and sacred vows, but now he needs to give them the confidence they need in God to be able to move forward into the promise of God.   To do this he actually tells them to look back; to remember that God is merciful and that He will never abandon you, look back to the very beginnings of creation.  He asks them if there has ever been anything as incredible as what God has done for the Israelites?  Has any other nation heard the voice of God from fire and not been destroyed?  Has any other nation been chosen by God to be saved from another and then let the world watch as God does exactly that in spectacular ways?  The implied answer is "NO!"

Moses tells the Israelites that when they look back at the evidence of God working in their midst they have all of the evidence they will ever need to trust God that He will do what He says He will do when He promises to give them this land flowing with milk and honey, even if it is occupied by giants!  They are part of this story of God that has been going on since before they even existed as a nation.  As they choose to trust and follow God they become part of that story to which others in the future will look back on God working with them and be able to move forward into their own promises.

That is us!  We are the future people who look back to Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness; to the miraculous things God did for them, but more importantly how God was always faithful to them.  We too place our stories in the story of God.  First we look back and see how God has worked not only in Israel but through out the ages since then.  Second we look back on our own lives and see how God has been working in it.  Then and only then can we have the confidence to move forward into whatever God has in store for us next, because we have been reminded that He is trustworthy, faithful, merciful and strong and that He will sustain us in all He calls us to do.  Will we look back today so we can confidently move forward into tomorrow?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Sermon: Sunday, February 19, 2012

Greetings All,

Here is the audio file from Sunday's sermon. It is titled What We Win! and the texts are Mark 9:2-9 and Numbers 21:4-9.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Stubborn Ears!

Greetings All,

It has been one of those weeks, with meeting after meeting that eats into my time to make blog posts and I would like to tell you that it is slowing down, but the Lexington District Clergy have a meeting with the Bishop this afternoon, but I wanted to share this with you from my quiet time this morning. Let's start with scripture:

Num 24:10 "At that Balak was very angry with Balaam, beat his hands together and said, 'I summoned you to denouce my enemies and three times, you have persisted in blessing them.  Off with you to your own place!'" from The New English Bible

 Balak has brought prophet Balaam to curse Israel before they go into battle.  We all know Balaam from the story where his donkey speaks to him to chastise him for his behavior, but this is the rest of that story.  Despite beating his donkey, Balaam in coming to Balak has professed that he will only speak the words the Lord gives to him and that is what he does.  The Lord speaks only blessings of Israel to Balaam and those blessings are what he has professed before Balak.  Each time those words are professed Balak gets upset and brings Balaam to a new place to look at Israel from a different angle hoping that in seeing them in a different light Balaam will profess what Balak wants to hear, curses against Israel.  Each time Balaam professes only the words of the Lord and not what Balak wants to hear so Balak finally gets mad and sends Balaam away.  He refuse to listen to God because God is not telling him what he wants to hear.

How often is that true for us?  How often do we ask for a word from God, words of encouragement, direction, decision, or even of blessing and God does speak to us, but not what we want to hear so we ignore Him?  God will respond to us when we call upon Him, but we must be prepared to accept what He has to say.  He is the creator of the universe and He knows what is best for us; yes, even better than we know for ourselves.  Balak's stubborn refusal to listen to God doesn't end well for him and the same is true for us, when we persist in our stubbornness and refuse to listen to God because we don't like what He has to say, it will not end well for us.  The question before each of us today is simply this: "When we seek God's face and word are we willing to accept what he has to say, or will we persist with our stubborn ear, refuse to listen and go our own way?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Admitting Inadequacy

Greetings All,
Once again let's start with scripture.

NLT

Numbers 11:10 Moses heard all the families standing in front of their tents weeping, and the LORD became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. ¹¹ And Moses said to the LORD, "Why are you treating me, your servant, so miserably? What did I do to deserve the burden of a people like this? ¹² Are they my children? Am I their father? Is that why you have told me to carry them in my arms-- like a nurse carries a baby-- to the land you swore to give their ancestors? ¹³ Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep complaining and saying, 'Give us meat!' ¹⁴ I can't carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! ¹⁵ I'd rather you killed me than treat me like this. Please spare me this misery!"

 I love this pericope of scripture because it completely captures Moses' blunt and honest feelings.  He has been in the wilderness with the Israelites for over a month, they have seen the incredible providence of God as He brings water forth from rocks and makes manna fall from the sky, not to mention parting the Red Sea, yet they continue to grumble and complain about him (Moses) leading them into the wilderness.  Moses has been quietly stuffing his feelings and putting one foot in front of the other, but this time it has proven to be too much and he decides to lay it all out before God.  

"Lord did you call me to be a babysitter?  Is this your plan for me, to coddle and carry these ungrateful people?  Where do you expect me to get meat for all of them?  Is this really a burden I deserve?"  The true feelings of anger and frustration come pouring out, and rightfully so.  Moses feels responsible for the entire nation of Israel, for their well being, for their hope and even for their position before the Lord.  God called him and gave him Aaron, but even Aaron proved to be less than an effective helper as he makes a golden calf for the Israelites.  The burden is huge and Moses is trying to shoulder it alone.  He has come to that place where he tells God that he can't do it anymore, so God might as well just kill him now and get it over with, because the complaining of the Israelites is sure to kill him and death by the Almighty has to be a better death!

The question that seems to be right between the lines the entire discourse is simply, "God was this your plan for me?"  Was it God's plan for Moses to shoulder all of this burden alone?  Or has Moses taken on way more than God ever planned in his pride and desire to control?  My guess this morning is that this is Moses doing.  Like many of us and especially me, Moses has taken on more than God or anyone every intended and tried to get it all done.  The problem with folks like that is that you cannot tell them they need help, they have to come to the realization themselves.  God knows this and based upon His quick and immediate response He has merely been waiting on Moses to come to this conclusion.

The moment that Moses cries out and admits that he cannot do this by himself, God immediately responds and tells him to raise up 70 elders on whom God will share some of the leadership spirit that He has bestowed upon Moses.  It was never God's plan for Moses to do it all, but Moses needed to know that he couldn't do this without God and the help of others.  Do any of us find ourselves in the same kind of place today?  Have we taken on way too much out of our own pride?  Has that created frustration and anger with others and with God?  If that is the case, let us each learn from Moses this morning and cry out to God asking for help and then let us be ready to accept that help from whomever God raises up.  We can do all things through God who strengthens us, not through us who strengthens us!

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: Sources of Strength by Jimmy Carter

Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith

by Jimmy Carter
Published in 1997 by Times Books

Summary and Review: In many ways this book is a follow-up to former President Jimmy Carter's autobiography A Living Faith.  For Carter it is impossible to tell his story without telling of his deep and abiding faith.  It has always been a part of who he is and is something participatory for him.  He is not content to be simply a pew sitter, he has for years been a Sunday School Teacher and Bible Study leader.  The response to his autobiography had people asking about his understanding of Scripture, so the simplest way to answer them was to publish a book based upon the Bible studies he had taught over the years.  This is that book.

The book is organized into fifty-two lessons, all taken from actual lessons that Carter taught throughout his lifetime, some of them even coming from the time of his Presidency.  Each lesson begins with a scripture verse as a base and then Carter helps connect the reader to the context of the scripture before he present his interpretation.  Finally he suggests ways to apply this interpretation in our own lives.  Carter is unabashedly a Baptist and that comes through, but his understanding of scripture is much broader than simply one theological position.  The book is well written, it engages the reader and compels them to turn the next page.  The lessons are concise, making them appropriate to read as part of a daily devotional or of part of a weekly devotional.  It is set up to have one lesson for each week, but is just as effective using it daily.  His explanation of scripture is researched and rooted in scholarly understandings and his interpretation is well presented and will appeal to the broadest base of Christianity.  In reading this book one will walk away with a richer, more vibrant understanding of some scripture, but equally with a glimpse into the life of Jimmy Carter.

Reading Recommendation: Yes

God Strikes the Blows

Good morning all,
Let's start with a scripture verse from the 44th Psalm.

Psalm 44:3 "It was not our father's swords won them the land, nor their arm that gave them victory, but thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of thy presence; such was thy favour to them."

The Psalmist is writing to God amidst what appears to be a new revelation for him.  He has heard the stories from his father for years of the great things God did during the conquest of the Promised Land and apparently he has always focused on what the Israelites did, how they fought in such a manner as to bring victory.  His writing today reveals this new revelation for him, that it was not the swords or arms of the Israelites that made them victorious in the Promised Land, it was God Himself!  God's right hand; God's arm; the light of God's presence were the things that brought victory to the Israelites.  The Israelites merely swung the swords, but God struck the blows that brought victory!  The power and strength of God won the land, He merely allowed the Israelites to obediently participate.

This is a lesson that has worth enough for us to pay attention.  As Methodist, we believe that a vibrant and living faith includes doing good works once we have been justified.  If we are not careful we can get lost in the thought of, "look at all of the good we are doing," rather than the thought of, "look at all of the good God is allowing us to be a part of."  God has invited us into the battle of ministry and expects us to swing the sword, but the outcome is always His.  He determines the victory, He vanquishes the enemies, His glory is what shines through us.  The glory will never be ours, we are but reflections of God's glory and that should free us from the shackles of striving to do things in our own power.

God expects us to be obedient, but to do ministry in His power and with His results.  We don't have to define ourselves by the success of failure of our ministry projects, rather we define ourselves by our obedience to God.  Are we doing what He has called us to do?  Are we swinging the swords in battle and letting God strike the blows?  Are we living obedient lives that reveal God's glory to others?  Does the way we live make it easy for other people to believe in Jesus?  Or are we trying to control outcomes and determine our own success?  If we will be but obedient and swing at what God calls us to swing at we can trust God to deliver the blows that lead to victory.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Sermon: Sunday, February 5, 2012

Greetings All,

Here is the audio file from Sunday's sermon. It is titled Not in Our Own Strength! and the text is Isaiah 40:21-31.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Storytelling

Good morning all,

We've been starting with Scripture each morning, today let's look back at Steinbeck for a moment.

"And it came about in the camps along the roads, on the ditch banks beside the streams, under the sycamores, that the story teller grew into being, so that the people gathered in the low firelight to hear the gifted ones.  And they listened while the tales were told, and their participation made the stories great."

"And the people listened, and their faces were quiet with listening.  The story tellers, gathering attention into their tales, spoke in great rhythms, spoke in great words because the tale was great, and the listeners became great through them."  from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck pg. 444

Once again Steinbeck draws us into his story and captures our imagination as we gather a mental picture of the migrants gathered around a storyteller, listening, hungering for a vision of something more than where they are at, longing to remember that there is something greater, that there is hope.  That is the power of the story teller, they can paint mental pictures that draw us into the picture and give us life and light and hope.  Steinbeck is describing earthly stories about fighting Indians or a rich fellow pretending to be poor, but what he has described is equally true for those of us that tell God's story.

We are all storytellers and everyone has a bit of Californian migrant in them as we all look at our lives and wonder at times, "If this is it?" or, "Isn't there something more?"  We are all looking for that story that will draw us in and give us that hope again that there is something more, something bigger, something better, something transcendent in which we can participate.  There is only one story that can truly do that without fail, every time it is told and that is the story of God.  We are all called to be God's storytellers.  It is a big story, with lots of parts and we don't have to tell the whole thing all at once, we just have to know it well enough to share the parts that can connect with a particular person in a particular place.  We have to be able to tell it in a way that captures their imagination and invites them into this bigger than life story of God.  Because just as Steinbeck's migrants are made great through listening to the stories, so are each of us made great when we are drawn into the story of God.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Music Review: Jane Monheit Concert

Greetings All,

I must admit that I have been enjoying having Eastern Kentucky University's new Art Center open as they have offered a fabulous season of performances that will continue through May.  Last fall Christa and I had the opportunity to see BB King through the generosity of my congregation.  It was incredible to experience a living blues legend and see his personality as he interacted with the audience.  A week ago today, we were at another music performance.  This time it was Christa's Christmas present to me and it was orchestra one seats to see Jane Monheit.  She has been performing for over ten years and I have been listening to her for most of those, but this was my first opportunity to experience her in a live performance. 

She is known for her crystal clear renditions of Jazz standards.  Renditions that demonstrate perfect enunciation, incredible vocal control and a true love for the songs she is singing.  If there is a song she is most renowned for it is her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, but I have equally enjoyed her songs like Bill or her duet with Michael Buble' I Won't Dance.  I was going into this concert with excitement and high expectations.  I had already experienced the concert hall and enjoyed its acoustics and layout, and I was coming in with a knowledge of not only her song base, but Jazz standards in general.  When we first were seated I was a bit surprised to find the stage set for a simple trio; on her albums she generally has the support of a full orchestra or at least more than just a trio of piano, base and drums.  However, I love the simple beauty of a Jazz trio with an exceptional vocalist, so I continued to be excited. 

As the performance began the musicians were fabulous and Jane's vocals stood out.  I smiled thinking this is going to be a great performance and an most wonderful evening, but almost immediately she employed a practice that she seldom uses on her albums, that of skatting, singing without words, which when used occasionally can be a beautiful demonstration of vocal control by an artist.  The first time she did this that proved to be the case, but by the time she had employed it on practically every song and used it as often as real lyrics it became wearisome and began to at least lose this member of the audience. 

A second challenge of the performance for me was her interaction with the audience.  She began by talking about how in 12 years of touring she had never been to Kentucky and felt really welcomed, but that initial offering was tempered and even upended by "playful" comments about the audience's lacking knowledge of Jazz and how if we did not know a particular song or particular composer "she was scared for us."  In the end she came across more as an elitist New Yorker who looks down on everyone else that is not from the Big Apple.  From this I never enjoyed the sense of connection with the performer that I had with BB King.

A third thing that bothered me was when she performed Over the Rainbow.  Again this is the song for which she is most renowned, which has stood out above so many other versions due to her vocal clarity and control.  She opened with a dialogue about how this is the song that she gets to perform at each concert because it is the one the audience always requests.  Duh!  It is what helped make her famous!  She then told us how, since she sang it so often that it became boring, that her and the band would develop new renditions.  She then launched into a "new rendition" that was practically unrecognizable as Jane Monheit singing Over the Rainbow.  Later in the set she also did her "rendition" of Stardust that was unrecognizable.  Had she not told us that she was singing this long revered Jazz standard, I would not have known what it was.  While I realize that artists need to express themselves differently and that they will tire of songs, the problem I have with this is that as an audience of fans we come in with certain expectations that we are right to have.  We should expect the person to perform their iconic song in a manner which lives up to our expectations.  In this case we have paid $45 per ticket to enjoy this performance and while I did enjoy it, I could have enjoyed it so much more if she had made a little effort to meet her audiences' expectations rather than appease her personal boredom with her iconic song and her attempts to force her audience's expectations into the performance box that she has decided to present.

A final observation was that the manner in which she performed and the trio she brought with her was a set that I would expect and truly enjoy in a cabaret or Jazz club, but not when I am in a large concert hall.  The performance did not match the venue and thus it left me as an audience member feeling a little disconnected.  I still love the produced music of Jane Monheit and will continue to enjoy it, but in the future I will be a little more cautious about seeing her live by investigating the band she is bringing to the particular venue and I will go in with the same expectations I bring to seeing the show of a new Jazz artist so that I don't find myself disappointed.  Again, I did enjoy the show and it was an incredible Christmas present from an incredible lady; I just could have enjoyed it a bit more if Ms. Monheit

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

A Bigger Sabbath

Greetings All,

Let's start with scripture, a quick piece from Leviticus.  It is from the part we haven't gotten to yet, but it blessed me this morning and I hope it will bless you.

NRS

Leviticus 25:1 The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: ² Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the LORD. ³ Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; ⁴ but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. ⁵ You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. ⁶ You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath-- you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you; ⁷ for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.

Once again the Lord speaks to Moses and gives him commandments for the people to follow, not the big ten, but ones that are for the good of their physical lives but even better for their spiritual ones.  The big ten include the commandment about keeping a Sabbath every seventh day.  This is a practice that theoretically they have been practicing for a while now in the wilderness so they are at least used to the concept; but here the Lord super sizes the concept of Sabbath rest, of Sabbath trust and dependence, as He tells the Israelites not only to have a Sabbath day, but to have a Sabbath year for the land.  The truth is this is good agricultural practice, but I would offer that it is more about them than the land. 

Can you imagine taking your trust in God for your daily bread and increasing it to trusting Him for your daily bread for 365 days in a row?  No longer can you prune, or sow, or harvest for an entire year.  The land will still produce, but the Israelites are not aloud to work the land, they must trust in God that the land will produce enough for not only them, but everyone in their household and their animals!  This is a level of faith that I am not sure I possess to be completely honest.  So often I want to trust in my ability to work and do and provide for myself and family; to trust God for all of my families provisions for a year without me working is frankly an overwhelming idea.  I don't think I am alone in feeling overwhelmed by the idea because I am not sure there is a shred of Biblical evidence that Israel ever followed this command and there is certainly no evidence that they ever celebrated a Year of Jubilee which is the culmination of seven sets of seventh year Sabbaths for the land.

The good news for the Israelites and for us today is that God knows how overwhelming this concept must be.  Notice that He didn't tell them to immediately start practicing this, He told them to start practicing this once they entered the Promised Land.  He was giving them not only all of their wilderness time to get used to trusting God on such an incredible level, but He was also giving them their first six years in the Promised Land.  They would get to experience years of God providing for their daily needs in the wilderness with manna, quail and water sources, to experience God being true to His word of bringing them into the Promised Land, and to have six full years of enjoying this promised land flowing with milk and honey before they are ever expected to trust God on such a monumental level. 

He knew they would need time and He knows we need the same.  Trusting anyone, much less God, is a process that happens over time.  The longer I am in relationship with someone the more or less trust I develop in them.  For every time they prove trustworthy, my trust increases.  God knows this and wants every opportunity to prove Himself trustworthy to us so we can grow to that place of complete trust and dependence upon Him.  We need to take baby steps of trust and faith everyday by picking things to trust God with and as He proves Himself trustworthy we can begin to move from baby steps to strides, to ultimately giant leaps of faith.  Wesley talked about sanctification being the process of becoming perfect in love, equally it is a process of becoming perfect in trusting God.  Celebrating a Sabbath year of completely trusting God for one's families provisions is the embodiment of entire sanctification.  God allowed the Israelites to grow into this depth of trust, I would offer that He gives us the same opportunity.  The question for each of us today is "Will we take baby steps of trust and faith in God to lead us down a path that ends in perfect trust and a bigger Sabbath in our lives?"

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Affirming Denials

Greetings All,

Our scripture this morning comes from John chapter Eight.

NRS

John 8:48 The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge.

This piece of scripture comes amidst an argument/debate that the Jews and Jesus are having regarding His identity.  In their frustration the Jews call Him two names in this passage, Samaritan and Possessed.  Basically they are equating these two labels as both being aligned with the devil rather than being aligned with the Lord.  For them it is just as bad to be a Samaritan as it is to be demon possessed, but Jesus does not share their belief that these two are basically the same.  Jesus only responds to the accusation of being possessed. 

He states, "I am not possessed, I honor my Father!"  In His response we see that he too believes that to be possessed is to be aligned with the devil, even though it isn't your fault, and he assures them that this is not the case.  Do note though that He does not respond to the accusation that He is a Samaritan, for to deny that like He denies the possession would be to affirm their belief about Samaritans.  Jesus throughout the Gospels acts out God's love for the Samaritans time and time again.  Here is an often overlooked exchange where once again He affirms God's love for them.  His denial would have affirmed the Jews belief that the Samaritans were basically aligned with the devil or at best out of God's favor, but His silence not only suggests their belief is wrong but also affirms God's love for them.

In our lives do we pay attention to the accusations we deny?  In denying an accusation are we affirming someones incorrect belief? In denying an accusation are we affirming someones prejudice or hatred?  Sometimes what we do not say is just as important as what we do say.  Jesus' denial of possession affirms two truths, one that He is not possessed and two that possession is out of line alignment with the Father.  Had he denied being a Samaritan He would have affirmed the truth that he is not, but equally He would have affirmed their false belief that Samaritans are out of God's favor.  Let us covenant today that we will pay attention to the beliefs behind the words to make sure we do not make a falsehood affirming denials.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron