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It’s Christmas Everywhere Else!

spiritstirrer — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:56:35 +0000

I was recently chastised for Advent! A well meaning church member was troubled at the lack of Christmas carols during our worship services (so far). I calmly reminded her that the reason was that this was not Christmas season but Advent, a different yet related season of the Christian year. She was not impressed; in fact she then exclaimed: “It’s Christmas everywhere else!”

Enter John the baptizer. He comes into a world where there is the perception that all is well, no change is needed, yet those outside the halls of power were “ripe for change” (Mariam J. Kammell in Feasting on the Word). The prophet calls it like is by telling his hearers: repent, turn around! This is not the message that we are hoping to hear.

It strikes me that this message comes from the wilderness, a place to be feared, a place where nothing good happens. It is this place, not the places of power, that God uses to give us a message of hope. This is also the place that God calls God’s own — to go on a journey, not to stay in exile but to take a chance on going to a home that many have never known.

Advent has become this wilderness for the church. We are fighting it like the Israelites fought going home. The prophet’s social critique fits us well today. He is asking us to repent, to turn around from our ways that in the end leave us in exile. W. Paul Jones, Methodist elder turned Trappist monk, tells it like this: “here [is] a conflict between the Israelites’ craving to go back to a place that was not ‘home,’ versus the courage to escape to a ‘Promised Land’ where they had never been before. So it is with each of us. We live on the bridge.” (from A Season in the Desert: Making Time Holy)

The call to repent is a call to recognize our need to turn around. We were told last week to “stay awake” so that we could recognize the coming of salvation. Now we struggle with what we are told. We have trouble turning around, our so called “home” is comfortable even if it is not the promised land.

Advent forces us to live on this bridge and we are fighting it with all of our being!

If we hear the prophet carefully we know that all stumbling blocks have been removed. The valleys are filled up, the mountains laid low, the crooked paths straightened. All has been made ready. There is no excuse to remain in exile, freedom has been made possible, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:6)

Now is the time for us to live into repentance. We need to look towards the wilderness and acknowledge that the work of turning around is difficult but it is our calling. This wilderness is dangerous indeed! Repentance — turning around — is dangerous, not comfortable, it shakes the foundations of who we are and of the communities we are a part of. Letting go of the comforts of exile into the wilderness of salvation is a decision one should not take lightly.

After all, our “way of life” will change if we walk to the other side of this bridge. We are comfortable here, strangers, bound, but comfortable, our surroundings have become our reality, yet that reality as we have it is not what God intended. There is a promise of a new day. We are called to prepare by a total reorientation of life! Our whole being turned towards God, the giver of life.

It’s Christmas everywhere…but we are still preparing. This does not mean we are not looking forward to the celebration. What it means is that we recognize that we cannot jump into the celebration until we are prepared for what Christ’s coming really means. It also means that we, like the prophet, stand in the wilderness and proclaim that all is not well, a turning around is needed, the real home awaits!

Observe Advent (Day 6): Conspiracy

expatminister — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:44:26 +0000

Substitute compassion for consumption.

That’s the idea behind the Advent Conspiracy, which encourages people and communities of faith to recommit to Christmas as a truly transformational season. [AC] partners with Living Water International to drill wells in areas that need it the most: to date, 340 wells that serve 200,000 people. I like several aspects of [AC]: anyone & any group can participate; it addresses a specific need; it offers comprehensive resources and support; and that it is rooted in a rich liturgical & biblical tradition.

It also simply addresses our Christmas mania with a 4-pronged approach: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All. Hard to find fault with any of these! So this season, I invite you to consider a way to connect personally with what Jesus came to do this, and give real life — living water — to those who need it most.

You can also follow @advntconspiracy and @livingwaterintl on Twitter; become a fan of [AC] and Living Water International on Facebook.

Friday emphases will focus on ways to support others during this season, in solidarity with the ancient tradition of fasting on the day Jesus gave himself up for us.

Observe Advent (Day 5): Time

expatminister — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:11:03 +0000

How do you keep track of time?

We all mark time: burning candles, water clocks, sundials, moon cycles, watches, pendulum clocks, cell phones. Ritual time is no different–in fact, the symbols of time are heightened and more prominently placed than with ordinary timepieces.

Advent calendars take many shapes & sizes–some are just doors to be opened that reveal a picture or scripture sentences; some hide chocolate or mini candy canes; and some have little resemblance to the observance of this season.

Whether they come in little boxes (thanks, Peter, for sharing that great idea!) or hang on a wall, Advent calendars are a long-standing way to mark the progress made towards Bethlehem and the inbreaking of God’s presence into our world. On our Advent Resources page, there are links to several daily Advent calendars or reflections, and we invite you to share your own ways of marking the time and keeping watch until Christmas Eve!

Observe Advent (Day 4): Pray

expatminister — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:32:41 +0000

“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” -Karl Barth

Prayer during the Advent season seems like a no-brainer. But it is hard to prioritize something which has no immediate impact on our finances, our shopping lists, our party planning, our work to-dos, or our stress levels.

To say “you should pray during Advent” is not to add an additional chore to the list. To pray during Advent is to be aware of what God is up to during this season. It is the intuition, the gut reaction, the hunch, the conviction that nurtures faith in a faithless and adulterous generation. It is the tuning fork that indicates where divine harmonies may be found, and what dissonance must be allowed to fade into silence.

Advent proclaims that God is doing a new thing…that God is not finished with us yet. Praying the O Antiphons, the traditional collects for each Sunday, the Magnificat, or simply keeping silence so that God might speak is perhaps the only way the Spirit can clue us in on what’s about to happen.

Don’t know what to pray? Common Worship, from the Church of England, has some very nice prayers for different times of the day, and there are seasonal emphases for Advent.

Sex, Ordination, and Covenants

expatminister — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Over at The Huffington Post, regular columnist Rev. Debra Haffner is writing about the commitment to celibacy and chastity for ordained clergypersons. I encourage you to read the entire article. The most interesting statement is where Rev. Haffner asserts that

it does not make sense to ask [ordained, single clergy] to give up adult sexual lives outside of the congregation.

Once again, I’d like to make the distinction between being a grownup and being an adult. Adult means that you are old enough to do whatever you want; being grownup means you have the wisdom and self-discipline to exercise that ability appropriately. As Paul says,

‘All things are lawful for me’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful for me’, but I will not be dominated by anything. (1 Cor 6:12, NRSV)

But there’s more to it than that. I’d like to quote extensively a passage from Rowan Williams’ Where God Happens (reviewed by Josh here), because I feel like it addressses this more substantially than I could.

A church that is simply recognizing different preferences is stuck at the level of individualism; the real work has not yet been done, the work that is the discovery of God’s call beyond the simplistic “listening to the heart” that we all too readily settle for. This is a work that takes protracted, committed time, which is why the church is so much involved in blessing lifelong commitments–marriage, ordination, monastic life–not as a way of saying that everyone has to be involved in one or more of these but to remind all baptized believers that, because of their baptism, they are bound to the patient, long-term discovery of what grace will do to them. And it is a work that requires the kind of vulnerability to each other that can only come with the building up of trust over time, and the kind of silence that brings our fantasy identities to judgment. (p 67)

I understand the rub. But you can’t separate your sexuality from your spirituality; you can’t take one covenant seriously and neglect the formation of another.

Experiencing Jesus

expatminister — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:50:00 +0000

The experience of Jesus in Christian worship and discipleship is not primarily ‘spiritual’–whatever that means–but sensory, corporeal, bodily, tangible, enfleshed, incarnate, and immediate.

An overemphasis on so-called spiritual or heavenly aspects eviscerates the power and import of faith. It turns us inward and enforces purity of life or experience as condition for grace. It also demarcates what is of God and what is not in a way that belies the Biblical witness. Rob Bell famously says, “Everything is spiritual.” The material things of life are used by God throughout the Old Testament, Jesus in the New, and the Spirit in history to convey grace and life.

To treat God–Father, Son, or Holy Spirit–as that which can only be apprehended internally denies the importance and validity of Incarnation and Crucifixion, as well as the goodness of the Creation. As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin writes, “By virtue of the Creation and, still more, of the Incarnation, nothing here below is profane for those who know how to see.” May the sacredness of all things created, redeemed, and sanctified by God lead us further into the grace of Jesus.

Commissioned Elders Presiding at Communion

expatminister — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:09:00 +0000

On the Commissioned Elder and Provisional Member of the Annual Conference and the Sacrament of Holy Communion in The United Methodist Church

Concern for Sacramental Integrity

A number of incidents while I served three years as a probationary member of the United Methodist clergy covenant as well as since I have been ordained have provoked this response. As I served in campus ministry, I was asked many times to guest preach in local congregations, and on some of those occasions, I was asked to lead the congregation in celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion. On each of those occasions, I declined to do so because of my own personal regard for the integrity of the celebration, and to comply with the Discipline of our Church. And yet, that should not have had to be a personal decision. It should be reinforced by clergy colleagues and certainly by superintendents. Unfortunately, my story is not unique: I continue to hear similar stories which deeply disturb me. Many clergy seem unaware of current authorized practice. At the risk of taking something on which is far above my pay scale, let us review…

Disciplinary Provisions

This issue is one which has plagued Methodism from its early days. The official teaching document adopted by the 2004 General Conference, This Holy Mystery, reminds us that:

“[John] Wesley was convinced that there could be no sacramental ministry without ordination as elder. This conviction ultimately determined his decision to perform ‘extraordinary’ ordinations himself…Under the terms of the Book of Discipline, several groups of people are authorized to preside at Eucharist in the charges to which they are appointed…. “
(This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, as recorded in The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church, 2008, Resolution #8014, p. 991.)

Among these groups of people will be found the commissioned elder/provisional member, as illustrated by the current Discipline:

“A provisional member preparing for ordination as an elder shall be licensed for pastoral ministry (¶ 315). “
(The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church—2008, ¶ 326.2.)

“Provisional elders…may be licensed by the bishop to perform all the duties of the pastor (¶ 340), including the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion…within and while appointed to a particular charge or extension ministry. For the purposes of these paragraphs the charge or extension ministry will be defined as ‘people within or related to the community or ministry setting being served.’ “
(The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church—2008, ¶ 316.1.)

Theology of Commissioning and Ordination

These two paragraphs indicate the source of authority in a local church that is given to commissioned clergy and provisional elders: it stems from their license for pastoral ministry. Though their identity as clergy stems from the act of commissioning, they function as a licensed local pastor. This dichotomy will not be unified and cemented as a life-long part of their identity until ordination. Ordination is the act of the Spirit which gifts individuals for apostolic ministry; it also confers the authorization and blessing of the Church for a gospel ministry unbound by time or location.

However, licensing in the United Methodist tradition, whether in the transitional state of provisional membership & commissioning or for the long-term as a local pastor, is a recognition that the Spirit is still unfolding the gifts of ministry in an individual. Moreover, licensing for pastoral ministry only recognizes a local and temporary (rather than universal or “catholic,” and life-long) call.

The Limits of Sacramental Responsibility

I cannot find anywhere–neither in the paragraphs relating to the ministry of local pastors & provisional elders nor in the paragraphs relating to the responsibilities of bishops & district superintendents–a place where the current Discipline provides for the administration of the sacraments by those not ordained as an Elder anywhere other than in their appointment. Moreover, regardless of what may have been past practice, the current Discipline does not delegate authority on this matter to a person or group: no bishop, district superintendent, cabinet member, senior pastor, Board of Ordained Ministry, nor District Committee on Ministry may make such an authorization.

In the event that there might be a neglect of the Sacramental life of a congregation or assembly, This Holy Mystery suggests suitable alternatives: celebration by a bishop, district superintendent, elder serving in extension ministries, or retired elder. (cf. This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, as recorded in The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church, 2008, Resolution #8014, p. 992; cf. Discipline ¶ 340.2.b & ¶ 344.3.a.) A desire to further the mission of the church would still have to follow the Disciplinary procedure to begin a new church community; we should treat the celebration of Holy Communion with at least equal regard, even when we desire to “spread scriptural holiness across the land.”

There are other reasons—theological, ecclesiological, missional, and practical—why I believe that this continued occurrence is wrong. There may also be reasons to review our current practice and re-open the debate on our orders of ministry and theology of the Eucharist. But I submit that–whether it is in departing from the tradition of the entire Church (without sufficient cause), violating the unity of the Body of Christ by engaging in practices unrecognizable by our ecumenical brothers and sisters, neglecting to be aware of the current requirements in United Methodism, or deliberately refusing to submit to the Discipline–the rogue practice of asking or allowing provisional elders or local pastors to celebrate the Sacraments outside of their appointment is un-collegial, disobedient, and a failure of the Church.

Liturgical Banners

expatminister — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:16:00 +0000

So, over at Liturgy, Rev. Bosco Peters had put up a set of liturgical season banners for websites, blogs, etc. I thought it was a great idea, and so I decided to give it a go. Here’s my first efforts…there will be more to come. Comment below if you have a particular feast/season I don’t have that you’d like to see.

Please note that these are all my own personal images, taken from the year I spent in Britain. If you’d like to use these on your not-for-profit blog or website, feel free; just please give credit: “Liturgical banners (c) Joshua W. Hale, 2009. Used by permission.” Email me if you are interested in using them on any for-profit/monetized site or purpose.

And here they are:

LN on Twitter

expatminister — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:56:00 +0000

Well, we weren’t here before Oprah, but Liturgical Nerds is officially on Twitter now, as are our individual accounts. Please follow us at

http://twitter.com/LiturgicalNerds
http://twitter.com/expatminister
http://twitter.com/spiritstirrer

See you in 140 characters!

40 Days of Prayer

expatminister — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:00:00 +0000

If you haven’t yet received an invitation to be a part of the 40 Days of Prayer, then I invite you to learn more about it at

http://www.umcyoungclergy.com/prayer

You can also read Josh’s thoughts on why this is important and how he got involved at

http://expatriateminister.blogspot.com