Don't Panic

So that seems to be this and last week's theme, perhaps a theme for life: DON'T PANIC. We hear it all over the news now as the markets wobble on news of closings, bankruptcies and buy-outs. It is the answer to every level of the crisis..."If people/corporations/creditors/etc. can just stay calm..."

I've experienced it time and again, even recently, as a pastor and as a person. Panic and anxiety are perhaps the greatest destructive force we know. It's why FDR's line speaks to us throughout time, "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." (From his First Inaugural Address)

And the truth is, we see this all the time. As I look back over the missteps in my life or ministry, I can almost universally say they were the result of panic. Of reacting to my own or others' fears without stepping back to take a deep breath. The irony always is that it's usually those whose own panic wratcheted up the system's anxiety that are the first and loudest to attack the system's response to it!

The key is finding ways to maintain relative calm in the face of challenges. That doesn't mean avoidance (we often call behavior like this passive-aggressive) but rather being able to be present but non-anxious.

These ideas have been skillfully drawn out by Rabbi Edwin Friedman in his writings, including Generation to Generation and A Failure of Nerve. Another favorite is Friedman's Fables--which I'm really hoping to lead a study of at church sometime soon.

Rabbi Friedman talks about how we live in a chronically-anxious society, and how this shapes us and all our interactions. He talks about this in the framework of family-systems theory, as he applies that lens not only to families but also to churches, businesses, governments, etc.

I could go on and on, but what has struck me here of late is how true this all is and has always been. It's a bit counter-intuitive. I mean, there's this natural tendency to tell ourselves there is a problem and we must fix it, and to feel an immediate time pressure to do so. But sometimes---perhaps far more often than we would like to admit---our rush to "fix" a problem simply exacerbates it.

May we all learn to take a step back a bit more often and think a bit before we rush to face a problem...both in our own lives, our churches, our nation, and our world!

Sarah

Changing Names (and other transitions)

So we returned from our honeymoon yesterday, and I've hit the ground running. As soon as Chris and I got back we headed to the Eagle Scout court of honor for one of the church youth, and after we got back and finally unpacked the car, I dived into e-mails. I get a bit ansy coming back to just get going. There's always an insane amount to catch up on, and that was certainly true since in addition to missing the three Sundays and two weeks I'd planned on, my sister's gall bladder surgery the week before it all really just threw me off kilter.

But I've been e-mailing, phone calling and such pretty furiously since early this morning, and though I'm still far from being caught up, I feel a bit like my feet might somehow get back under me some time this week...

I've also started looking into getting my name officially changed, and I'm anxious to just get that over with as well. So I may try to run to Hagerstown this afternoon to start working it out...boy it just takes a bit of focus!

It's strange (and I am told the strangeness will continue for a while at least) to get used to a new last name. At the court of honor, I was introduced 3 times in the course of the program, and each time it was a bit startling to remember that the Rev. Schlieckert they called was me! So yeah, it will be a strange adjustment.

I'm also, though trying to take advantage of this huge transition to look at other changes, like getting back into a good routine (I don't think I ever really hit my stride since returning from last year's mission trip), and really evaluating my priorities and how and who I am, naturally at least, as a pastor, and who I want to be. It's really easy to just get into a reactive mode, reacting to criticism or praise by avoiding or doing something someone wants, without really thinking through what's really happening. So I want to be more intentional about all that.

On top of all this, fall marks the return of conference meetings, etc., that always make my schedule a bit more hectic (and which always seem to be different days!). So hopefully this week I can get a handle on what's ahead this fall, and try to be proactive in setting up a schedule for the coming months...

...yeah, so I'm off to work on that...

:-) Sarah