Vigilance

“The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime, and the punishment of his guilt” (John Philpot Curran, Irish judge, July 10, 1790).

“Eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty” (Andrew Jackson, March 4, 1837).

“What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias” (Judge Learned Hand, May 21, 1944).

“Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Jesus, Matthew 26:41).

“Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers…” (Paul, Romans 13:11).

Vigilare (Latin, “keep awake”)

Funny how my mind works. I was out pulling weeds the other day when I thought of the famous statement usually quoted as “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom”  (erroneously attributed to Thomas Jefferson). I suppose that at the same time I was thinking about my blog for this week, I was reflecting on how I have to keep a constant watch on the weeds or they’ll take over. And for good or ill, this post was the result of my down-in-the-dirt, on my knees meditation.

Freedom is extremely important to me. It forms a kind of trinity of essentials, along with love and truth. That’s why I’m glad I’m an American, blessed with a Bill of Rights that grants my neighbors and me freedom to worship (or not) as we please, to speak, to enjoy a press not under state control, to assemble with others peaceably, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Freedom is also one of the reasons I have chosen to remain a Presbyterian. One of our dearest historic principles is that “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship” (Book of Order, Presbyterian Church [USA], G-1.0300). Another important viewpoint from my tradition is that God is completely free and sovereign. Related to that affirmation is the recognition of the human tendency to try to usurp the place of God or to worship something or someone else in the place of God. Thus we become tyrants and seek to force others to bend to our control and our ideas (cf. Book of Order, G-2.0500a[4]).

For me, the greatest threat to our freedom comes not so much from outside enemies, but from those tendencies toward tyranny and idolatry that we have within ourselves. Because of our fear, lust for power, drive for control, ignorance, and whatever else, we want to restrict the freedom of others while maintaining the broadest possible set of rights and greatest array of choices for ourselves.

Ironically, some of the most vehement opponents of freedom are found among those who name the Name of Christ and profess love of America. Many preach and act against reproductive choice. Others (falsely) proclaim America a “Christian nation” and long for our land to be a theocracy, governed, of course, by their narrow interpretation of God’s law. Still more rail against the separation of church and state and/or try to have fundamentalist doctrine enacted into law or replace sound science in our schools. Freedom of thought, of exploration, of relying on one’s own moral judgment go out the window. Those of a different faith or none are looked on with suspicion, made to feel second-class or regarded as intellectually and morally inferior.

But don’t be smug, progressives! Just because you or I might have a kinder, more tolerant heart or a broader mind doesn’t mean we won’t be susceptible to the same tendencies toward tyranny and idolatry we see in fundamentalists and the Religious Right. We merely express them in a different way. So we need to be eternally vigilant, ever on the watch for those weeds of prejudice, hatred, and fear in our own lives that would lead us to be unfaithful to the One who said his Truth would set us free. Root them out lest they choke the good seed of the liberating Word. Freedom is too precious a gift not to be thus protected and allowed to grow and flourish in our hearts and minds and in those of our neighbors.

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

Hope

[A]nd the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2).

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25a).

Not so very long ago, Susan and I transplanted a “volunteer” crepe myrtle from an ornamental bed along our side fence to a flower bed outside our bedroom window. We made sure to preserve plenty of the little tree’s roots, bury and water them, and generally treat it with care. We’ve enjoyed our other crepe myrtles, including another volunteer that is now flourishing outside our laundry room, and we wanted this one to prosper as well.

We gave the tree awhile to get acclimated to its new home, then started looking for growth on it. Nothing. Every day we checked, and still it looked like a dead stick with branches. We were about to give up when suddenly we noticed green shoots on it. Now it’s leafing out very nicely, and we believe it’s going to make it, becoming the beauty we hoped for next to our patio.

I doubt very much that it’s coincidence that right about the time we saw growth on the crepe myrtle, we received two pieces of bad news. One concerned a young (31) member of my extended family who died after a horrific fight with cancer, leaving a wife and two young sons. The other was from a dear friend of my wife’s, who reported to Susan that her cancer had returned and there was nothing more to be done.

No, it wasn’t coincidence. It was providence. God in his mercy showed us a sign of hope when we could have despaired, having heard such news of death and sickness. A tree that seemed dead was now filled with green leaves, promising beautiful blossoms in due season. And that reminded us, and reminds us still, that even when death seems to have the upper hand, God has something else in mind. The ultimate power in the universe is not death, but life; the final reality not the grave, but resurrection.

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

 

Legacy

“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Psalm 16:6, KJV).

Recently Robin Meade from HLN went skydiving with former President George H.W. Bush on the occasion of his 85th birthday. She also interviewed Mr. Bush, asking him about the “L” word. I was puzzled. “Liberal?” “Lesbian?” That’s what that letter usually stands for when used in such a manner. But Ms. Meade meant “legacy,” and Mr. Bush seemed to understand that. I guess I’m behind on my interview alphabet vocabulary.

In response, Mr. Bush said, as I recall, that historians would have to judge what he did well and what he did poorly. Pretty standard answer, but nonetheless true.

Indeed, for all of us, history—the outcome of our stories, however large or small they may be—must be the judge of the sort of legacy each of us leaves. When we depart this world (or end our active career, as in Mr. Bush’s case), will it be a better place for our having been in it? Did we pass along something of value to sons and daughters, friends and community, that will endure and help them in turn to make a positive contribution to their world?  

I don’t believe my wife’s late dad ever worried about a legacy, but he most certainly left a positive one. This is the first Fathers’ Day since Neal joined the Church Triumphant, and I want to honor him. As I said, Neal didn’t fret about a legacy. He simply lived his life faithfully, honorably, gratefully, peaceably, honestly, fruitfully, and lovingly, and trusted “the good Lord” for the outcome. He and Elaine wanted to raise their children to be responsible adults, and I can testify that they indeed succeeded. The values they imparted continue to stand Warren, Susan, and Jeff in good stead. Neal’s example and wisdom, I am confident, will shape, inform, and inspire generations of Smiths for years to come.

Neal lived to see the birth of his great-granddaughter Norabeth and hold her in his arms. Thanks to what he taught Norabeth’s grandfather Jeff, and Jeff passed along to his son Brett, the little girl’s dad, Norabeth will grow up saying “Yea, I have a goodly heritage.”

Thanks be to God for Neal Smith.

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

 

Shaking the Milk

On a recent trip to see our niece graduate from high school, Susan and I stayed with my parents, as always when we go to Georgia. At breakfast one morning, I noticed my dad shaking the milk vigorously. I thought this was odd behavior, given that it was unnecessary for the 1% product they’ve started drinking. But I understood why Daddy did it. He grew up in a day when the cream rose to the top of the whole milk, delivered to your door right from the dairy in glass quart bottles with little paper caps. (Well, truth be told, so did I.) Shaking milk was necessary to mix the cream with the milk and get that rich flavor everybody loved.

I was having Sunday lunch recently with some friends, Herbert and Joanie, from a church I have occasionally supplied, and for some reason I told the story about Daddy and his milk. “I do that, too,” said both Herbert and his mother, who was also sharing the meal. “And for the same reason. It’s a habit.” Reminiscing about shaking milk was an entertaining bit of nostalgia and a connection among us all.

There’s no harm at all in shaking the milk jug, even if the practice is now only a habit and unnecessary. Indeed, as I’ve said, the shared memory of the bygone day when the separated parts of milk had to be combined can add warmth to new and old relationships.

But seeing Daddy shake the milk reminded me of what happens so often in the church and other organizations. There was a practice that arose out of necessity, the need for efficiency, lack of resources or for some other good reason. So it showed the wisdom and practicality of the founders or parents or elders. The necessity passed when conditions changed, but the way things had been done still persisted as tradition now spoken of in hushed tones as “the Practice.” Somehow not to preserve the Practice  dishonored the heritage of the congregation or the organization. Anyone who asked about it was automatically branded a trouble-maker and radical and excluded from the inner circle. The Practice had become institutionalized, and some folk made it their mission to preserve it. Never mind that there was a better way or that no one needed anymore to take the time or make the effort metaphorically to shake the milk. “We have always done it that way.”

There’s a reason those are called the “Seven Last Words of the Church.” They are one evidence of a “closed myth,” which shuts out the stranger (like visitors and even a new pastor). They betray the central ethos of the congregation as one that shuns innovation and new ideas, even when the same old thing is not producing good results. So eventually they become an epitaph when the doors finally close and the lights are turned out for the last time.

Some traditions and old practices are great, lovely, and add to the character and appeal of a congregation. But tradition for the sake of tradition, like change for the sake of change, is not a good idea. Everything, no matter how old and supposedly sacrosanct, needs to be judged by whether it shows the love of Jesus and brings people to him, including them in the big circle that is the community of faith.

Now doing that would shake things up!

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

 

Alternate Tunings

O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand (Isaiah 64:8).

I’ve been an amateur guitarist for about 40 years now. I started playing at sixteen, primarily learning by teaching myself from books. Over the years, I’ve discovered a great many fascinating things about the guitar that I had no inkling of when I started out.

One of those discoveries has come only in this decade. It’s the concept of alternate tunings. In an earlier blog, entitled “DADGAD” (October 9, 2008), I talked about the lesson changing and playing one of my guitars in that tuning taught me. In this post, I want to share a couple more insights I gained while talking with some folks about leadership at a conference last month.

In our small group, we were discussing various ways of leading, specifically making changes in our approaches as necessary for a situation. I said that reminded me of the capability of a guitar to be tuned different ways depending on the preference of the musician and the piece being played. Standard tuning (EADGBE, low to high) is fine for strumming chords or leading singing. DADGAD is great for “fingerstyle” as played, for example, by Pierre Bensusan. “Drop D,” in which the lowest string is tuned down from E to D is useful in rock, while open tunings (like tuning the guitar to play an E or G chord on open strings) are great for slide and blues.

All that on the same instrument. Of course, a standard guitar can’t produce the resonant tones of a bass or the mellow sounds of a baritone (tuned a fifth lower than standard). But it’s still incredibly versatile.

My point here is that all of us have our standard tuning, as it were. That’s our typical way of responding to a situation, the default setting that we go back to in a crisis. Anyone who has ever taken the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory has discovered his or her standard approach to the world around. Sometimes our normal way is helpful and appropriate. We are served well in our work by being a “commander,” for example. Or our family has appreciated our intuitive grasp of others’ feelings and needs.

At other times, though, we will need to adapt, to tune ourselves (or allow ourselves to be tuned) differently, if only for a time. The introvert has to draw on his or her opposite pole, the extrovert, in order to relate well to someone else, even though the effort is emotionally, even physically, draining. The commander will need to discover how to collaborate when part of a team, contributing ideas, but not pronouncing final judgment on them.

The good news is that we can in fact adapt. We each have it within ourselves to change a little bit (“drop D”), moderately (“DADGAD”) or even a great deal (open tunings). The key factor is what we most care about. Do we value above all our comfort with what’s familiar, whether our usual approach works or not? Or do we care most about effectively carrying out God’s call to us, even when it’s clear we must adapt by, say, giving up control or deciding to listen seriously to someone else’s viewpoint?

The Chief Musician wants to play beautiful music through us. And he will if we are simply open to his creativity in our lives.

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

 

Labyrinth, Part II: To the Edge and Back

“‘For surely I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Before I share this week’s post, I want to update a previous entry called “A Biblical Worldview?” with this quote from Peter Rollins, described as a “prominent figure in the Emergent church movement in the United Kingdom.” Rollins observes: “The Bible is not some simple creed. It’s not a worldview that opposes other worldviews. It’s something that brings life, that brings transformation. I think that this understanding of faith  resonates with people who are tired of a religion in which believing the right thing is what it’s all about” (“Seeds of Doubt,” The Christian Century, June 2, 2009: 20).

Now to more reflections on/from the labyrinth at the Mercy Center in St. Louis.

When I entered the labyrinth, I thought I would have an easy time getting to the center. Wrong! Even though a labyrinth is not a maze, it does contain switchbacks, turns, ins and outs. I was led by the path all the way out to the edge, then in toward the center only to be forced outward again by the configuration of the circle.

The medium was the message. The labyrinth is made in such a way as to remind seekers that life is not an easy path. Yes, we ultimately come to our destination, but not without work or sorrow or hardship. We do not achieve enlightenment of the spirit without discipline, practice, and thought on difficult questions. As the very honest title of my college French text promised, we will learn, but “non sans travail” (“not without work”).  

God leads us into his purpose for our lives, but like the labyrinth, through many twists and turns, to the edge and back, through doubt, despair, even suffering and grief. But lead us he does into the center of his will, the shalom only he can give.

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

 

Labyrinth, Part I: Tired Tires

Note: A labyrinth, unlike its cousin the maze, contains no dead ends. It is rather a spiritual meditation tool which leads those who walk it inevitably to the center and peace, though through many turns. The labyrinth I walked at the Mercy Center in St. Louis, MO is modeled after the Chartres Labyrinth in France.

For more on labyrinths, see, for example, www.veriditas.org/resources.

__________________________________________________________________________

The paths of the Mercy Center Labyrinth were originally lined with wood mulch, tons of it. But over time, weeds began to grow through and maintenance became too much. Pea gravel was put down in place of the wood, but the crunch-crunch-crunch as spiritual seekers walked the twists and turns proved distracting. So, recycled shredded tires took the place of the stone, providing both silence and softness underfoot.

As I walked the labyrinth earlier this month during a conference, I thought about those tired tires. They were no longer road-worthy, too bald to grip the asphalt and keep safe the passengers in a car or the driver and cargo of a truck. The miles on interstates, suburban streets, fields, and backwoods had taken their toll. The rubber had met the road for the last time.

But now they were given a new mission, a fresh purpose. Yes, they were shredded, and now nobody could tell a Michelin from a Toyo from a Goodyear. The cheap and the premium, the tractor and the ATV and the car tire were all mixed together on the path. All joined now to cushion the footfalls of humble seekers who had come seeking peace and centering in the labyrinth.

I mused that this is how it is not only with these tires, but with all who find that the mission they once passionately pursued is now no longer possible, whether due to age, lack of skills for a new day, fatigue or circumstances of family and/or the economy. They need not despair, for a new mission will present itself, new possibilities will emerge, though it may mean some shredding of ego, being willing to be humbled and prepared for a smaller, though important and rewarding, task.

God’s way of making things new (Revelation 21:5) is as mysterious as the Creator himself. As A Declaration of Faith has it: “We do not fully comprehend who God is or how he works. God’s reality far exceeds all our words can say. The Lord’s requirements are not always what we think is best. The Lord’s care for us is not always what we want. God comes to us on his own terms and is able to do far more than we ask or think.”

Like the labyrinth, God takes us through twists and turns and ins and outs but inevitably to the center of his will.

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

 

A Biblical Worldview?

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Jesus, Matthew 7:15-21).

The Barna Group, an evangelical research company, recently released the results of their “worldview survey.” As reported in April 2009 Campus Ministry Update from Ivy Jungle, the survey showed “that only 9% of adults have a ‘biblical worldview’ as defined by believing that absolute moral truth exists, that the Bible is totally accurate in all the principles it teaches, the reality of Satan, the sinless life of Christ, the belief in an all knowing, all loving, God who created the world and rules the universe today, and the belief that a person could not earn their way into heaven.  Overall, only 9% of respondents held all the beliefs for a ‘biblical worldview’…. Young adults (18-23) were least likely to hold a biblical worldview, with only one half of one percent in agreement with all of the statements.”

With such narrow parameters, the results are not surprising. What is it with self-assured, self-righteous people who have to draw the circle of orthodoxy with such a small diameter that it excludes even most people who would call themselves “Christian,” much less followers of other faiths or no faith at all? It must be so very satisfying to them to go to bed at night secure in their grasp of “truth” and believing that God favors them above all others because they hold tightly to a set of doctrines.

My problem is not so much with the doctrines proposed in the cited survey. Sufficiently nuanced and interpreted, I could affirm all of them. My concern instead is that the list doesn’t reflect some very important aspects of biblical thought. Notice that other than a reference to the “sinless life of Christ,” Jesus is not mentioned! For me, he—his teaching, his death, his resurrection—stands at the center of Scripture and thus certainly must be the focus of any “biblical worldview.”

So, I want to suggest my own measures of whether someone holds a “biblical worldview.” Consider these possibilities, a very small sample of what could be included:

• all people are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-28);
• human beings are to be responsible stewards of creation (Genesis 2:15);
• the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it (Psalm 24:1);
• God makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45);
• anyone in any nation who does what is right is acceptable to God (Acts 10:35);
• God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God (1 John 4:16b);
• whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:15);
• with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get (Matthew 7:2);
• God desires mercy and not sacrifice (i.e., ritual action), the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings (Matthew 9:13; Hosea 6:6);
• God wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4);
• what is good, and what is required of us, is do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8);
• God is not far from each of us (Acts 17:27);
• evil is real and strong but can and will be overcome (The Apocalypse of John).

But really, why make lists at all? I get the idea that people who make subscription lists and call assent to them “faith” or “being biblical” haven’t actually read the Bible or at least the book of James. Simply accepting some proposition intellectually (assensus, in the classic taxonomy) is not faith. James wrote: “You believe God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder” (2:19).

Intellectual assent doesn’t guarantee that your life will reflect what you believe. That was James’ point. Belief that is true faith issues in action. As an old Presbyterian (USA)standard holds, there is an inseparable connection between truth and duty. So if you subscribe to a narrow list of fundamentals or some other roster of “right” belief, as Barna used in his survey, you will likely display intolerance, smugness, prejudice, arrogance, and even cruelty in your relationships. Not exactly gospel values! But if the major and minor doctrinal bodies orbiting your spiritual sun have wide trajectories, then you are more likely to live with peace, love, and justice toward your neighbors.

And that’s what I consider a “biblical worldview.”

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

 

Lagniappe

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God” (Isaiah 35:1,2).
 
“Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations,, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20, 21, NKJV).

Susan and I love to sit out on our patio after the workday is done and enjoy the birds and the beauty of our back yard. Recently, we were surprised and delighted when a big rabbit came around the corner by the holly and stopped within a few feet of us. We froze while the animal looked at us and gave us in turn a great view of him. He ambled off, and we thought it was pretty cool that we got to see the bunny. But what should show up moments later but another, smaller rabbit?! She had come the same route and was tracking what we presumed was her mate. Two in one evening!

That same day Susan was talking to her brother Warren, who was in the process of renovating a room in his home. He was out on the back porch cutting some board when he heard two wrens barking like crazy at him. They had a nest in a hanging decoration on the porch, as they have had for years, and they weren’t too happy that Warren had gotten close to it. He kept on with his work nevertheless, but then was surprised when a fledgling wren left the nest and awkwardly made it down to the bottom of the back stairs. Soon another did the same thing. Warren called his wife, and they watched as the excited and concerned parents hustled their babies under cover. Two little birds at a milestone in their lives!

After a recent rain storm, a huge rainbow appeared in the eastern sky. It was extraordinary enough that we could see an almost complete arch. But on the left-hand side, there was an additional green band, on the outside. Unusual, unexpected, wondrous!

In all these scenarios, our majestic and surprising Creator had given something extra, a bit of lagniappe. Sometimes that’s his gift to us all simply for showing up and being in the right place at the right time. Other times, it’s his way of saying, “Hey! I’m here! And there’s more where that came from. Don’t you want what I have to give?”

The world is full of wonders beyond our deserving or our imagining. In these days when news of sickness, worry, crime, greed, and death continually dominate the news, it’s worth remembering that there is still beauty out there, in abundance, a little something extra from a God who is always generous.

© 2009 Tom Cheatham

Please note: My next blog post, a comment on “biblical worldviews,” will be on May 15. Thanks for reading.

 

Tweaking

“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it” (Isaiah 43:19a)?

 

“And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new’” (Revelation 21:5a).

 

I have a digital acoustic guitar processor (AKA a “stompbox”) that I bought a few years ago to supplement my little 15-watt amp and Korean-made Ovation guitar. It features thirty-six pre-sets, each with ten adjustable parameters, modeling various kinds of guitars. I can dial in and save settings that suit my tastes, my playing needs, and/or my sense of how something should sound. Or I can leave the pre-sets just as they are. In short, the processor is eminently tweakable.

 

I went on a kind of tweaking binge recently with the stompbox. I picked up one of my guitars, then another, and plugged them in turn into the unit. When I started playing and listening closely, I found that some of the factory models which I wanted to use left something to be desired. Others were irrelevant to my style of playing.

 

The twelve-string simulation, for example, sounded too processed and not like any such guitar I had ever heard or played. But with a bit of fiddling with this and that, I got a tone I felt was much more authentic. So that was a little bitty tweak.

 

Another whole set of simulations (to make my electric sound acoustic) needed moderate tweaking, but then I tried one that was supposed to sound like an instrument from the Far East. I didn’t need that, so I decided to almost completely rewrite it to make the pre-set useable. Nearly every setting got tweaked. All I retained were the bare bones of gain and pre-amp characteristics. I kept at it with minor adjustments till I had something useable and very personal. It’s now one of my favorite pre-sets. But it took extensive tweaking to get it.

 

Reflecting on that process, it occurred to me that we may also need to do some tweaking from time to time in the Church with our “pre-sets.” That is, documents, rules, and traditions that somebody else put in place at some other time and offered (or insisted on) to/for us for use in our life in the community of faith. These are ways of thinking and acting and governing that somebody thought worked pretty well and considered reasonable approximations of what Jesus wants us to do and be. Rather like the manufacturer of my stompbox selling me thirty-six models that their engineers had worked hard on perfecting.

 

Suppose, for example, that a church board has an out-of-date Manual of Operations that once was fine, but now keeps the governing body bogged down in inefficiency and bureaucracy (major tweak needed, such as eliminating committees, reducing the membership of the board). Could be that the order of worship is largely OK, but still doesn’t quite flow properly (minor tweak, like moving the location of a prayer or a hymn). Perhaps a procedure is in place that has the pastor or a committee chair having to consult the entire board before he or she can take care of a routine request for property use (moderate tweak, such as authorizing the pastor and a lay official to make the decision). Maybe there’s a tradition that one lady prepares the flower arrangements for Sunday, as she has done for 30 years, and nobody else (perhaps more talented and faithful in worship attendance?) has a chance. (OK, that one takes more than a tweak!)

 

My point is, we don’t need to be stuck when procedures no longer fit our needs, the language or order of worship isn’t user-friendly, our buildings aren’t welcoming, and our traditions don’t authentically reflect the Gospel of Christ. Sometimes just a little change, and the imagination and boldness to try it, can mean a great deal.

 

Well, gotta go. Time to plug in and play with my tweaked stompbox, user setting B4.

 

© 2009 Tom Cheatham