Friday, February 27, 2009

Jobs

My husband Chris has been going through the process of finding a new food service/housekeeping manager for the camp he directs, Manidokan. I've helped a bit, as I "long ago" became Chris' interview partner when he's hiring. This has been a valuable experience for me, honestly, getting me experience I would not have gotten in my current appointment really. Plus, I've done a lot of hiring (albeit on a smaller scale) in college and grad school.

That said, I wasn't thinking this search would be much different. And in many ways it isn't. But boy, what a thing to have a spot to fill in the current economic crisis. We've received--in only one week's time of advertising in only two (local) papers--over four dozen applications. Twice as many people have called the office. Several mornings the past week, Chris has done nothing but field phone calls on this.

It's been incredibly difficult to wade through the stack of people who we're sure could probably do the job. Any of them, in a different year, might have a good chance. But there are just so MANY that we have the ability to real sort through. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not currently in the job pool.

I've been concerned though about the poor quality of some people's resumes and applications. A few I've wanted to call and say, "Look, I think you're probably a really great person, but your resume is nothing that's going to impress." I'm not talking about high-level fine-tuning. I'm not an HR expert. I'm talking basics. Like don't hand-write it. Or...at least make an attempt to send something remotely formatted like a resume.

As Chris and I have struggled with the difficulty (and downright yucky feeling) of merely stacking these resumes (and hence people) into yes, no, maybe (with the requisite discussion of why)...we have been struck by how much uncertainty, pain and stress is all around us.

This led to the beginning of a discussion last night about what we and our congregation might be able to do. It was kicked off during our Disciple I class this week on Luke, and Jesus' focus on the least, lost and last.

Chris is really excited about this, and I'm looking forward to helping however I can as we figure out what we're talking about. A support groups. Resources. Networking. We're still really trying to think through this, and Sunday, Chris will be inviting the congregation for volunteers to help think through it as well...

I'm excited to see where this will go...

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Leadership

As a pastor, I suppose it's fair to say I'm nearly always thinking about my own leadership. I am, I am sure, the most avid critic of my own leadership. Perhaps people are not always aware of that (to hear people sometimes you'd think they thought they were the only ones who saw my mistakes, and thus they have a sacred trust to point them out)...but many people are, and their patience and grace with me is priceless. Most of these people are ones who look back on their own leadership and life and know they are a better person now than they had been, and they understand we all go through that same process But focusing only on one's own leadership, even if critically, can become myopic and, subsequently, distorted.

So it is always a treat to be able to reflect on leadership with others--whether in conversation or in print. Here lately I've been accumulating books about leadership--ones recommended by a variety of people. I decided, out of necessity really, years ago that I would not seek out books, but if recommended by someone directly, I try to get ahold of the book. This is how I can to read The Tipping Point--when our VP of Student Affairs at Duke recommended it. My dad is a frequent source of ideas. And my latest book purchases are a result of recommendations by clergy colleagues. You see, I've accepted the fact that at this point in my life at least, I'm not a very voracious reader (my father is). And some people are really good at finding good books--largely because they read so much they get exposed to a lot. I want to maximize my time reading, so why waste time trying to find a great book? There are always people who know. And then I frequently recommend those books on to others.

Yesterday, after a frustrating morning when my Blackberry crashed and I had to face the phone calls and store visits to get a replacement sent, I needed to get a bit of sanity back. A perfect time to turn to those books!

I finished the Social Sectors supplement to Good to Great (a book I read a couple years ago, I think soon after it came out and it was recommended to me by a coworker). It was a helpful clarification of some of the language and understandings of Good to Great into the non-profit world. What I appreciated most came right at the beginning of the supplement, where Collins clarifies that "A culture of discipline is not a principle of business; it is a principle of greatness." Too often, people in churches bristle at the idea of using learnings from the business world, arguing that we're completely different. But as Collins points out, the practices he explains as necessary in successful business aren't technical, they're about focus, clarity and discipline...and there is nothing about these that makes them unsuited to churches. In reality, many of the "church" leadership books out tell the same story as Collins' Good to Great...just with more (perhaps silly and needless) avoidance of business or secular terminology.

Next, I moved on to read the first bit of Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, from the Harvard Business School Press. I've only read a couple dozen pages, but I am loving the book already and finding it very insightful and helpful. Let me be honest...some Christian leadership books are redundant. They say nice things, but it's like getting advice from your Sunday School teacher...not a leadership expert who has real examples. Many of the leadership issues pastors face are not pastoral counseling ones, and I sometimes find more insight from an illustration (as in this book) of a South American president facing an economic crisis than a pastor who had this family that was in conflict...Both are helpful, but the latter gets old when it's just restated in different ways.

Here are some great lines I've already come across from Leadership on the Line:
-"People do not resist change, per se. They resist loss."
-The difference between TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, "problems for with [people] do, in fact, have the necessary know-how and procedures," and ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE, which "require experiements, new discoveries, and adjustments from numerous places in the organization or community." The writers point out that far too often, both leaders and their followers try to deal with an adaptive challenge as if it is a technical problem. You can imagine (and have seen) the problems that ensue. This also feeds into the desire of people to have someone come "fix" their problems...without understanding that they are going to need to be part of (and even initiate) the solution...a solution that will most likely call them to experience some form of loss.

So, I'm excited to have the opportunity to dive into these and the other great books I've got stacked. I don't do a good enough job blocking time to read...always a myriad of things to be done aside from sitting down with a book. But I also know that when I don't take the time to do that, my spirit (and leadership) suffers. I've been fortunate to cross paths with some really great books...the sort you wish you'd read a lot sooner because you know if would have helped you be a better leader...or person...But at least moving forward, it does.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Power of No

Yesterday my brother received the news that he had not passed this year's probationer's exam. This would have allowed him to begin serving as a pastor for the three-year "trial" period in the UMC the precedes ordination. I won't overwhelm you with the details of it, suffice to say, I'm disappointed (in a number of ways) and though I don't doubt there are good reasons, when you're on this side of it, you always have lots of good reasons why their good reasons aren't good enough. I think anyone in my shoes, as big sister, would feel the same. I must say my brother is taking this all in stride...being are more mature and reflective about it that I would be (which perhaps actually makes him better suited for ministry).

I've been struck lately though with the power of No. What a closed door changes. Ends. Postphones. And how it's must easier to close a door than have a door closed on you. We all perfect the art of saying "No" sometime around age two. I don't think any of us ever really enjoy hearing it. The same two year old that confidently says "No" can instantly fall into tears upon hearing it directed at them. To some extent, we struggle with this our entire lives.

Think of any show, movie, or real-life family with teens and you know this scene. Teenager asks for something that parents are not inclined to give or allow. No. Teen responds, "But Moooommm..." etc. Sometimes the parents are right and good for them, hold out. Sometimes they realize they are wrong, or just plain crumble to pressure and the outcome changes. And those little victories encourage us to hope. And resist.

I'm reminded of a study I once heard of that was done at an Ivy League school. Yale, let's say. At the end of a semester-long photography class, students were told they had to pick only one of the two final projects (long-worked-on photographs of which there was only one print). Half the class was told the other photo would be destroyed immediately after the selection. The other half was told they had two weeks to change their minds. There were no other differences between these two groups than that. The study found that a year later, the first group was far more pleased with which photo they selected than the second (few had actually changed their minds). The researchers concluded that simply having a choice created self-doubt and regret. Humans, researchers have repeatedly found, have a remarkable ability to adapt, make due, and even be happy when they have no other choice. Perhaps this explains why so many Americans (with all the choices in our lives) are so much less happy than people in other countries with far less than us.

The power of NO is most painful because it removes an option we previously had. It changes everything and makes other choices more or less necessary. Change of job one year can preclude decisions about childbearing in that period or soon after. Loss of an opportunity at one point can indeed open the way for other opportunities for that same period, but the pain of the path changing is real.

What I have found in my own life--both in hearing and saying No--is that the power of pain it carries is not so much in the opening or closing of doors, but in the compassion of the speaker in understanding the power of that No. It certainly makes a big difference. I have, I am sure, spoken No in painful ways to hear. I have certainly heard No in painful ways.

When I think of how God our Father speaks No to us, I'm reminded of the sayings about how God does answer us, just sometimes says No. But whenever I try to think of what that No looks and feels like, it always seems to me like a loving, gentle father rocking his child in his arms gently saying, "No," understanding the child's pain, and appreciating the shock of the moment. We would all perhaps be better served by doing the same. And when such a response if not forthcoming from those who speak No to us, turning to the Father who cries with us even in moments when those "No"s are the very best for us.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Mark

Yesterday, as my husband and I were driving down towards Baltimore, Chris asked if I'd be willing to bring along a Bible and read Mark during the trip down. After all, you might as well use that hour in the car...it's not good for much else! Mark is the reading this week for our DISCIPLE class, and though we're not always good at doing each day's reading, it's no fun to wait till Thursday to try to pack it all in before class. Since I'm leading the class, I am not using the reading for my own devotion...trying to honor that rule that pastors need to have devotional time that has nothing to do with preaching, teaching or otherwise being pastor-y.

That said, it was a neat treat to be able to read Mark as a continuous story. I've always loved the Gospel of Mark...a remnant of having my seminary Intro to the NT professor be a Mark scholar. I love the activeness of the story telling, and I always point out to people how well-suited Mark is to being told as a story around a campfire. Pack in the midst of "immediately" is a fast pace, low on words account of Jesus' life. It is certainly the gospel that has maintained the closest form to what would have been the earliest oral traditions about Jesus.

For all these reasons, this gospel really comes alive in Eugene Peterson's translation The Message. In fact, at points I laughed in the reading of it, as the phrasing lifted forth some humor or sarcasm that can get lost in liturgical readings of small sections of the text. Flowing forth in the entirety of the account is a sort of pacing that is pretty cool.

One of the passages that made me chuckle was the account of the disciples panicking when a storm comes upon their boat, and Jesus is asleep on the boat! The disciples are freaking out, and run to Jesus to ask why he's not up and taking care of things. Peterson's translation continues, "Awake now..." Maybe it's just me, but if you read the whole flow of that, it comes off like what happens when you walk in or call someone who is sleeping and ask, "Are you awake?" and their response, "I am now." It's pretty mundane, but Mark (esp. in The Message) really captures the very real like-us-ness of Jesus and the others in the account.

My favorite part of Mark, in the context of this fast paced account laced with the secrecy motif is the very end. After people being constantly told not to tell about Jesus, the women are told to go and tell. But the Gospel explains that they were afraid and went and told no one. (Though in reality, they must have told someone, because that part of the story is included!) Scholars believe the original text ends there. I love it, because the oral tradition part of it seems vividest there. The story ends by begging this statement and question: "But you know the story. Will you have the courage to go and tell?"

We didn't make it through Mark...we've got a few chapters left. I don't know if we'll finish off with a read-through. I'm kind of hoping we do though. It really brings it all to life. And maybe some day, I'll even get to read or hear Mark around a campfire...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Sacrament of the Holy Casserole

I was reminded of this humorous (and completely dorky) writing of mine last week when it was mentioned by my DS' previous secretary...I think I wrote it after making some joke when talking to her about something, and then I went home and in a fit of dorkiness, wrote this. I hunted it down because my husband hadn't seen it, and though it points out how dorky I am, I still get a chuckle out of it!
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The Sacrament of the Holy Casserole
Historical Reflection by Rev. Sarah Andrews

From the very first generations of the Christian Church, the celebration of the Holy Casserole (or in Latin, casserolis sacridis) has been a hallmark of Christian tradition. Though the sacrament was lost for many centuries, in eighteenth century England, a man named John Wesley created a spiritual awakening, based largely upon a renewed and regular celebration of Holy Casserole.

Critics of John Wesley cited the centuries of lapse in the celebration of Holy Casserole as an indication of the lack of importance of the practice. Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church had long practiced casserole-in-one-kind, limiting lay participation in Holy Casserole to those dishes without cream of mushroom soup. Protestant reformers, however, had themselves re-introduced the celebration of Holy Communion with the cream of mushroom soup included for all people.

Since the time of the Reformers and of John Wesley, Holy Casserole has remained an important sacrament in all major Protestant denominations, though its place of honor in the United Methodist Church is without question. Indeed, the 1968 union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church finally united those two traditions which had a shared value of Holy Casserole, and who from their first days in the American colonies had shared many a potluck supper together.

Today there is a great importance in recapturing the theological and scripture value of Holy Casserole. Though Jesus is nowhere directly cited referring to Holy Casserole, scholars have long seen his miracle of the loaves and fishes as being a reference to an ancient casserole recipes including fish, bread crumbs and cream of mushroom soup. Scholars also believe, though not mentioned in the scriptural descriptions of that miracle, that goat’s milk as well as goat’s cheese would also have been included in the casserole on that miraculous event.

As we seek to make disciples for Jesus Christ, let us never again fail to place the sacrament of the Holy Casserole at the center of our worship and practice. And may we never forget the importance of cream of mushroom soup in our liturgies!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Wind

Something is in the air this week. And it's not just the leaves getting blown around in the wind outside today!

I thought it was just the UMC, but apparently this is a time of transitions for many...churches...groups...people. Maybe it's because, despite the "new year" celebrations of January, we don't get too into new beginnings until the cold of winter starts thawing out. Here around camp, the ground that once was frozen solid has become messy mud. I suspect winter will return for a time, but for now, this reminder of changing seasons seems to be taking hold of many lives.

For Chris and I, all of these transitions is also tied into the big transition in his family of the (forthcoming) birth of a baby! His sister Rebecca and her husband Matt are expecting their first child, a daughter, any day now! It will be the first grandchild for Chris' parents--a role I am sure they will excel at.

So though we're still square in the midst of winter, the winds of spring are upon us. And the reminder of how God brings new life even out of what was once frozen solid is a wonderful message as we thaw into a new year!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A Dreary Day

Yesterday my husband and I started what seemed to be a promising week with a nice, relaxing stroll on the towpath on our day off. We did some driving around, exploring towns we'd heard of but not yet had chance to see, and ventured home. He watched TV, and I finished a quit I'm making for my sister-in-law's soon to arrive daughter (Valentines Day due date!).

Our casual day was interrupted when I noticed a glow across the way in the woods. Now, a glow doesn't always mean anything major, nor would this one have been all that alarming were it not that we just couldn't quite tell if it (we decided it must indeed be a fire) was on camp property or not. Long story short (and one night-hike by the light of a full moon later), it was not on camp property, but was a house completely destroyed by fire. The man who lived there got out, which is the best news of all, but the marks of the fire remain. We rode over to see the remains with Scott, our camp maintenance director, who was one of the firefighters who responded. I keep trying to convince Chris we should get a scanner, but he seems content to know Scott has one and would call us if anything came up. There really is nothing left.

I've been thinking of this, and of ashes, as I work on some material for Lent this year. There never seems to be quite enough time to work the details of Lent out, but I'm giving it a good hard try this year, so we'll see.

I've also been struck by the juxtaposition of change and status quo in my own life as Lent approaches. While this season is a "fast," albeit reflective time in the church year, my own life seems to be in a bit of a standstill season. Or perhaps I've merely adapted to the pace of change where I am right now so that it hardly seems noteworthy. I don't know. But lately I've been thinking of an idea my preaching professor used often in describing the sermon-prep process: fallow ground. He used this to explain that when you prepare a sermon, you can just be go, go, go. You've got to make room for quiet, calm, and barrenness so that God can take hold of your preparations and really turn it into something.

So that's my latest line of reflection. Aside from sermon prep, do we also face times of fallow ground in our lives? Times when our great desire to be useful and hectic and such are frustrated? Are these necessary times for reflection or indications of times to find new fields? And what if there seems to be only fallow ground all around? I don't know. What do you think?

Monday, February 2, 2009

Conferencing and New Things

Chris and are are back from a week and a half of traveling. For us, the trip began with a few days of vacation--first San Francisco, then Napa--that was just wonderful (and needed after Christmas!).

It was both of ours first visit to the West Coast, though rain in San Francisco meant we didn't get to see the Pacific till we'd been in CA for several days!

While in Napa, we trekked to Sonoma and worshipped at Sonoma UMC, where people were very nice and Chris even got asked to read the scripture for their (early, contemporary) service.

After all that, we headed for what was a real reason for being in CA: the National United Methodist Camp and Retreat Leaders Conference. The conference was held at Mt. Hermon Center near Santa Cruz, and it was great to see old friends and make new ones.

We ran into Dan Randall, one of my seminary classmates, who with his wife is director of Camp Wesley in Latvia. We got to spend time with Chris' former camp colleagues from the Minnesota Annual Conference, and spend time with colleagues from our own conference. Sadly, Meg, our cook at Manidokan, had to fly back home the first day of the conference because her boyfriend Jody was badly injured in a car accident--the good news is he had successful surgery to repair his stomach wall, and is now home resting and recovering from that and some broken ribs and a sprained ankle.

The conference was a chance for me to get some CEU (Continuing Education Units)...since I'm now ordained, I have to get a certain number of these each quadrennium, and I got a whole 2 at the conference! Yay! The workshops were great, and the only one Chris and I went to together was one led by Bob Ditter, a child psychologist, who we've heard on video before, but was just incredibly dynamic in person.

There was a lot more at the conference worth note, but for now, I'll move on to the final stop of our voyage: ROCK.

ROCK is our conference's annual youth retreat in Ocean City, Maryland. This year we had the task of promoting this summer's (and first annual) ENCOUNTER event at Manidokan. It's an outdoor youth festival/retreat. We led two workshops along with Stephen Gallaher of Salt'n Light Youth Ministries. Encounter is July 15-18 this year, and the buzz was pretty cool. Check out www.bwcumc.org/encounter for more info (registration should go live later this week).

Now I'm back "in the office" trying to get things done...things seem to have been somewhat calm at church while I was away, but with meetings this week and Lent starting in a few, it's been a busy day already!

I'll plan to post in more detail about some of my experiences, but for now, it's off to get my feet back under me after being away for so long...