There have been times in my life when I have been so thankful to be "not the only _______". For me it has been not the only tall girl, white person, female, mission minded person, person in jeans, etc. I know that this is a feeling everyone has about whatever their circumstance. As a girl at fourteen years of age, who was six feet tall, I was thankful that their was a girl named Jaime who was a Senior in my high school. Even though we weren't really friends and seldom spoke, I took great comfort in the fact that she was also super tall. Because I was not the only insanely tall girl in a high school of 500 people.
Last weekend I was blessed to spend time with people from all over the country who have started new churches, new communities of faith and new ministries. I could hear their stories and ask them questions and they recognized where my questions were coming from without me having to explain. It was so nice and it helped my spirit reenergize about starting the new community that I have hoping for. Yesterday, I met a pastor in the area whose church is only 12 years old and he offered to spend time with me and I am elated. Being the only of something can be extremely lonely. I have missed my wonderful friends who I have made over the last 6 years at my previous church. I have doubted why I agreed to do this in the first place.
But I know that God has a hand and a plan for this new church. I find myself muttering "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This verse has helped me push through some of the fear of rejection as I visit with new people about what we are trying to do. As I drove home from the conference I attended, I was filled with ideas and inspiration and it got me home without any sleepiness. God even blessed with with a contact to follow up with who lives in Glenpool and her sister was my waitress in St. Louis.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Field of Dreams
My family just returned from a family reunion on my cheesehead husband's side. The weather in Wisconsin was lovely but they all kept complaining about how hot it was there! It got up to 90 degrees! For those of us living in Oklahoma, in the hottest summer on record, 90 degrees was a wonderfully cool experience. At night it even got down to 57 degrees and we had to use a blanket. It was so nice to remember what normal weather felt like.
On the way home, we decided to drive through Dyersville, Iowa to see the Field of Dreams baseball field. We discovered that the family farm where this movie was shot had been sold to some investors who will be building a baseball/softball mecca. We thought it was important to see it while the corn still surrounded it and it resembled the humble place that was depicted in the movie. The information on the sign taught us that 64,000 people came to this small family farm every year to see the place where the movie had been located. Which begs the question why? What is it about that movie that draws people?
From memory, I would have to say because it is a movie about second chances. Every character, in one way or another, finds healing through the building of this baseball field where miraculously people bridge between heaven and earth. One of the most famous lines in the movie is "Is this heaven? No it's Iowa." The cast of characters are from all kinds of backgrounds and are drawn- in a way that makes no sense at all- to this field. And the fact that this field was built at all is a miracle. The man who owns the farm is getting calls from the bank. The whole town thinks he is crazy. But he builds it anyway and miraculous things start to happen. He listens to the still small voice who compells him to act.
As a pastor who has been asked to start a new church in an area that is full of churches, I identify with this man. It seems crazy to take the risk, to begin when more people are leaving churches than joining them, to start with nothing and hope for everything, to trust that still small voice that has compelled to me try. But so many things have come together in a way that can only be explained by accepting that the Holy One has a plan that- how can I not try? Probably the most famous line of this movie is, "If you build it, they will come." I hope that as we build a community of faith, that people will find it a place of second chances, have moments that feel like miracles and heal in their relationship with their Creator. Our field of dreams is right here.
On the way home, we decided to drive through Dyersville, Iowa to see the Field of Dreams baseball field. We discovered that the family farm where this movie was shot had been sold to some investors who will be building a baseball/softball mecca. We thought it was important to see it while the corn still surrounded it and it resembled the humble place that was depicted in the movie. The information on the sign taught us that 64,000 people came to this small family farm every year to see the place where the movie had been located. Which begs the question why? What is it about that movie that draws people?
From memory, I would have to say because it is a movie about second chances. Every character, in one way or another, finds healing through the building of this baseball field where miraculously people bridge between heaven and earth. One of the most famous lines in the movie is "Is this heaven? No it's Iowa." The cast of characters are from all kinds of backgrounds and are drawn- in a way that makes no sense at all- to this field. And the fact that this field was built at all is a miracle. The man who owns the farm is getting calls from the bank. The whole town thinks he is crazy. But he builds it anyway and miraculous things start to happen. He listens to the still small voice who compells him to act.
As a pastor who has been asked to start a new church in an area that is full of churches, I identify with this man. It seems crazy to take the risk, to begin when more people are leaving churches than joining them, to start with nothing and hope for everything, to trust that still small voice that has compelled to me try. But so many things have come together in a way that can only be explained by accepting that the Holy One has a plan that- how can I not try? Probably the most famous line of this movie is, "If you build it, they will come." I hope that as we build a community of faith, that people will find it a place of second chances, have moments that feel like miracles and heal in their relationship with their Creator. Our field of dreams is right here.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Surprises
Two things have surprised me regularly in this process of starting a new church. The first is the loneliness. As someone who has always been part of a church community, the isolation has surprised me. Yes, I have been meeting new people and have enjoyed hearing their stories but those relationships are new. I have worked by getting up and going to a building full of people who collaborate with me and are there for feedback and laughter for the last six years. Now I have to make myself get dressed and leave the house everyday with a new agenda of meeting people and getting my work done. I have found myself feeling close the the people who check me out in a restaurant or store because they have been nice to me in their job of customer service. That's when I realized how lonely I was. My new community is small and we don't yet have the consistency of a weekly worship service. My friends are new and we haven't developed the depth of relationship that will come yet and I am missing my old friends and colleagues. None of my training mentioned this aspect of the new church start so it surprised me. My daughter's cat has tried to comfort me. No matter where I sit in our house, he follows me and lays near by or demands my attention by laying on the keyboard or book I am trying to use. I am having to check myself for cat hair before I can leave the house now.
The other thing that has surprised me is the people who have reached out and contacted me about a person who lives in my area. I have had phone calls, emails and cards from people who want to tell me about a person they know who I should reach out to. I have actually started a file for the information so I can be intentional about making sure I follow up with every one. I even knocked on the door of someone's home who did not know I was coming because all I had been given was an address for the lead. It reminds me of dating, which I haven't done in 20 years, because of the constant potential for rejection. In this process, I have met some lovely and wonderful people. I have to rely on God's plan and purpose for this church and push through my fears. It is an amazing journey that is defiantly not for everyone.
The other thing that has surprised me is the people who have reached out and contacted me about a person who lives in my area. I have had phone calls, emails and cards from people who want to tell me about a person they know who I should reach out to. I have actually started a file for the information so I can be intentional about making sure I follow up with every one. I even knocked on the door of someone's home who did not know I was coming because all I had been given was an address for the lead. It reminds me of dating, which I haven't done in 20 years, because of the constant potential for rejection. In this process, I have met some lovely and wonderful people. I have to rely on God's plan and purpose for this church and push through my fears. It is an amazing journey that is defiantly not for everyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)