Field Notes #43: Camp Meeting

O, walk together children
Don't you get weary
There's a great camp meeting
In the Promised Land

I've sung that song before, but I had nooooo idea what it meant.

You can see and read my initial reactions to visiting the campground earlier this summer here. I won't bore you with the details again--suffice to say I was totally unprepared for the reality of Rock Springs Campmeeting.

"Tents," you say? Nope. Shacks that are worth upwards of $40,000 each. I'm talking open-air, wooden tents, sometimes two-story, usually with concrete floors (nowadays, anyway), and no AC.

But it didn't take me long during my first visit to the campground (pre-camp meeting) for the initial shock to wear off and a sense of charm and appreciation to seep in.

That sense only deepened Thursday night. They were having a special service for the youth, so I went to check it out. The band that played is called The Unworthy Beloved, and I have offered to help them establish a web presence, because they are very, very good. Musically speaking, they were tight and energetic--and now that I've been dating a drummer for almost a year and a half, I can say with confidence that their drummer is phenomenal.

Of course, it was more than that--the hour they played was a powerful hour of worship for me. They played some original worship songs but also a number of praise anthems by Hillsong ("Lead Me to the Cross," "From the Inside Out" and "Hosanna"), John Mark McMillian's ubiquitous "How He Loves," and the newly popular hymn "Jesus Paid It All," among others. It was great, and my first taste of how a very old tradition can bring people of all ages together.

The next night, I went again, this time mostly just wandering around and visiting with various church members I ran into as I made a loop. The campground is laid out in a square, with the arbor in the middle and "tents" in rows on all sides. People own family tents, but everyone is always in everyone else's space. There are kids everywhere, running free, because it's OK for them to do that.

Everyone has a swing or bench of some sort, and unless they're specifically doing something inside, they're out there sitting and talking. I had the pleasure of joining one church member on her swing for a bit, then barely making it around the next corner before being flagged down by yet another woman I knew from Hill's Chapel.

Sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like our seminary education can get too focused on deconstruction, and being at camp meeting was one of those times where I felt that way. I wanted to bemoan the fact that although the campground is a little haven for Christians to be in constant, trustful community with hundreds of people, the real world just isn't that way.

But you know--I think it was a little glimpse of the Kingdom. I'm not saying I'll be looking to find that great camp meeting in the Promised Land, but there's something in what I saw there that I think is a foretaste of heaven. The freedom of children to roam, the atmosphere of belonging and mutuality. In today's world, we live paralyzed by fear of each other. But I've been reading the obscure Old Testament prophets, and Haggai 2:5 says, "My spirit abides among you; do not fear." At camp meeting, folks freely acknowledge that abiding spirit, and in it they find freedom from fear, freedom to love.

Field Notes #42: Janet and the Chocolate Ministry

Today, I had a unique ministry experience. I wasn't the one doing the ministering. After going to Gastonia's Shrimp Boat (which, ironically (the actual definition of "ironically"), is famous for its chicken) for lunch with Amber, I went back to her parents' house and spent the afternoon making chocolates with her mother, Janet Tatum.

Janet and her husband Lee are two wonderful members of Hill's Chapel. I've gotten to sing with both of them (and Amber) in choir and have had the privilege of interacting with them regularly over the summer. Janet is a master baker/confectioner, and I quickly learned that any event at which she is in attendance--whether a potluck, choir practice or Sunday School--will be met with something delicious. My first experience of Janet's baking involved mint chocolate chip cookies. I've also thoroughly enjoyed her Butterfinger blast, and I even liked her white chocolate chip cookies (I hate white chocolate--er, hated?).

Making chocolate with Janet was fun. Not only because the whole time Amber was there with Tyler, the 3-year-old she's watching for the month (who is super adorable and spent most of the day wearing firefighter boots and overalls), so there was plenty of background noise and action. But it was a creative process in and of itself. We had materials in plenty--chocolate, homemade caramel, malt balls, peanuts, Rice Krispies, pretzels and more. We just had to decide how to combine it.

Sitting here now, I can't even remember all the combinations we came up with, but they're all in my fridge in various bags and boxes (including one cute floral gift box). The purpose of the afternoon wasn't getting the chocolate, anyway--it was learning and spending time with Janet. She told me that chocolate became her therapy when she was going through chemo (Janet is a breast cancer survivor, and it actually hasn't been that long since she was diagnosed). She would bring chocolates to the doctor's office with her because, as she told me, "A nurse with chocolate breath is a happy nurse." She rattled off to me a list of people who like her confections--the vet, her pharmacist, the employees at Showmars, and so on. "So you give chocolate to everybody, huh?" I asked.

I like that. Something that has brought Janet joy through a fight with cancer and which brings her even more joy because she is able to share it with anyone and everyone. She didn't even need to call a committee or launch a ministry; she's just doing hospitality. And it is delicious.

Field Notes #41: Sunday Evening Worship: Beauty

Twice this summer I've helped lead a low-key Sunday evening worship service, along with Jon Dwyer, a college student from Hill's Chapel. We got off schedule with the 4th of July and the youth mission trip, and Jon may actually still be out of town this Sunday, but I'm gonna go ahead and have a service, partly so I can get one more in before my summer ends and partly because with no youth leaders in town this weekend, I want to make something available for the youth to be a part of. I decided that the theme this week will be "Beauty." Two of the songs we learned at CCC had to do with that motif, so I chose those and 4 more songs:

• "Beautiful Jesus" Kristian Stanfill
• "Beautiful One" Jeremy Camp
• "Beautiful Scandalous Night" Sixpence None the Richer
• "Beautiful the Blood" Steve Fee
• "Beautiful Things" Gungor
• "You're Beautiful" Phil Wickham

I'll be thinking of Scripture, poetry, quotations, etc. to help us think about the theme. I'm excited.

Field Notes #40: Rescheduling the Psalms Class

I had one person show up for the Psalms class tonight, and although it was a cool person, I decided it would be best if I didn't hold a class that was just me and a married man. Besides, the Psalms of vengeance make for awesome discussion, and I'd really like to be able to share what I've learned with more people, so I'm gonna reschedule it for next Tuesday. I've also made a new bulletin insert to advertise the class. I'm going for the shock factor. :)

Field Notes #39: Water Games, Ice Cream & a Movie

Here are some pictures from our fellowship event at the church on Sunday night. We got a good 30 minutes of outside time before the storm rolled through, at which point we sought refuge and ice cream indoors. The sun did come back out later. It was fun.

Field Notes #38: The Happy Timers

Yesterday I ended up going out to lunch twice. I had planned to have lunch with Jeana, our music director, and her daughter Celeste at 1:00, but I also got invited to Wendy's at 11:00 with the Happy Timers, a group of older folks that gets together about once a month to go out to lunch. I figured I'd swing by Wendy's, maybe get a little snack, and still be hungry when Jeana arrived.

I had fun at Wendy's. I've been a little surprised at how much I've enjoyed getting to know the older folks at the church. I know that sounds bad, but it's more that this summer I've had my eyes opened to issues with the elderly that hadn't occurred to me before.

All my life there have been older men and women who have had a profound impact on me; the first person I think of is James Alexander, the late lay leader at Davidson United Methodist Church, where I spent 12 years from age 4 to age 16. James was truly a saint--since he shared his first name with my dad, we referred to them as "James the Elder" and "James the Younger," or, alternatively, James Alexander would become "James the Wiser." His passing was a significant loss for me, even though my family had since moved to Charlotte.

And of course, there are my maternal grandparents. Mimi and Pop, as we call them, have always been a huge part of my life; in fact, only in recent years am I realizing just how much their presence has shaped me. As the first grandchild (and the only one for a little over 2 years), I experienced their omnipresence in a way that my siblings and cousins simply didn't. Now that I am older, I have found in my grandmother a wise counselor and in my grandfather a source of ministry wisdom and really terrible jokes.

But my grandparents have always been active and youthful, always younger-looking and more independent than many of their peers. Only in the past few years have I noticed any sort of decline in their health, and that has been distressing. So when I came to Hill's Chapel, I had little to no experience with shut-ins and the chronically ill and elderly. Home visits were not something that would have occurred to me unless someone had just come home from the hospital, but I've been able to tag along with Val on visits to several folks who simply can't make it to church or much of anywhere anymore.

So, back to Wendy's. I've gotten to know some of the old men in the church through various things, including a monthly coffee break Val's been hosting, and I've really enjoyed that. They have stories and they are characters. In checking in with my lay training committee at the church, I was telling one of its members how I've been pleasantly surprised at the amount of interaction I've had with the older churchgoers, and he made a good point: older men are one of the most neglected groups in the church. Women continue to stay involved in the church as they get older, but many men are unable to keep doing so in the ways in which they were accustomed in their younger days.

I hadn't really thought about that. I borrowed a book from my boyfriend called Why Men Hate Going to Church--I haven't read it yet, but part of what Gary told me is in it is that men like to accomplish things, and when they aren't given the opportunity to do so, they get bored and disconnected. In that sense, it seems logical to me that as men slowly lose physical health and strength, they can drift away from the church; and it seems to me that widowers are even more likely to lose touch without a wife to keep them connected.

I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had to interact with the older and wiser members of this church. Some of these people were baptized at Hill's Chapel and have truly been here all their life. They are our link to the history of the church, and we cannot leave them out in this fast-paced modern society.

Field Notes #37: Youth Sunday!

Youth Sunday this morning was awesome! The youth led worship, we opened with "Prince of Peace" and "Marvelous Light," baby Grayson was baptized, several youth shared about their experiences at CCC, I preached a sermon that got finished at about 9:45 a.m., the girls and I sang "You're Beautiful" during the offertory, Jenni and Maddie led the children's message, we showed a video I put together of pictures from the trip (see below!), and we ended by singing "Shine, Jesus, Shine." It was one of the more uplifting, energetic church services I've been to in a while. Our youth are great.

And here's my sermon:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

-- Luke 10:38-42

Martha is annoyed. Her sister is just sitting there. This isn’t the first time she’s been stuck doing the work while Mary goofs off. It seems that Mary has a habit of doing things that seem pointless and wasteful. In John 12, we see Martha serving a meal while Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with costly perfume. She is essentially dumping out a year’s worth of wages. The disciples protest, not simply at the wastefulness but because, as they say, that perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus’ response seems almost harsh: “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” Is Jesus telling us not to bother helping the poor?

I’ve never really liked the story of Mary and Martha. The moral of the story seems simple enough at first: if you are focused on Jesus and on his words, like Mary was, then you don’t have to worry about doing anything, like Martha did. But the pragmatist in me screams, “What about lunch?? Somebody has to make lunch! Jesus is fully human, he gets hungry!”

My main issue with this passage is that I have always had a hard time figuring out what the story says about faith and action. Sometimes, we make Mary and Martha into one-dimensional metaphors for the Christian life. Some people are Marys: they have the gifts of prayer and contemplation. Other people are Marthas: they make the casserole for the potluck and volunteer at Christian Ministries. We need both to be the church.

But that’s not quite right, is it? Certainly we all have different spiritual gifts, but this passage isn’t about God-given talents; it’s about how we use them. Did you notice what Jesus said? He said, “Mary has chosen what is better.” Mary made a choice. Her choice was to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to his words. Her choice was to be at peace in the presence of her Lord.

Martha made a choice, too. But that choice was less about what she was doing and more about how she was doing it. This passage is not telling us only to listen and never to act; that goes against the spirit of the gospel. Besides, right before the story of Mary and Martha is the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan doesn’t even believe in God, but he is the model of love and mercy that Jesus describes.

Martha’s problem is not that she’s busy; it’s that she’s worried and distracted. Martha is stressed out. More than that, she’s bitter that Mary isn’t helping her. Martha chooses to let her actions get in the way of her intended love and hospitality instead of flowing from it. She even becomes a tattletale—instead of asking Mary for help, she goes to Jesus: “don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

This scene reminds me of countless childhood squabbles with my little sister. Grace would take something of mine or vice versa, and before you knew it, a familiar sound was ringing through the halls. “Moooo-oooom!” Sometimes my parents would get tired of it and basically say, “I don’t care” if it wasn’t a big deal. This would annoy the daylights out of me because it made it seem like whatever possession Grace had swiped was not important. Most likely, it really wasn’t all that important. But I was not willing to admit that, and neither was Martha.

The story of Mary and Martha tells us that how and why we do things is just as important as what we do. In fact, it may well be more important in many cases. Not only that, but Jesus is telling them and us precisely what is the most important thing: he is. Martha has made the story about herself; Jesus insists that she make it about him.

Remember the story I mentioned earlier about Mary wasting all that perfume? When Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” the disciples would have known that Jesus was actually quoting Deuteronomy 15:11. This verse begins, “There will always be poor people in the land.” But it doesn’t stop there. “Therefore,” it reads, “I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” Therefore. Jesus wants us to help others, but he knows that the work of serving the poor is endless. We cannot approach such a task unless our purpose and hope comes from him. Jesus must come first; without him, we are helpless to do anything in the face of human need.

I was privileged to spend the past week with our youth group at Carolina Cross Connection, or CCC. As a first-timer at CCC, I was moved by how intentionally the program connected work, prayer and fellowship. We started each morning with prayer or worship, before we even got our work assignment for the day. The staff members told us repeatedly that although our work projects were important in and of themselves, more important were the relationships we might form with the people we were serving. We went to work, but we also went to sit, to listen, to talk. And everything we did was made possible by and was ultimately for God. Maybe we didn’t hammer nails any differently than any other volunteer might have, but the inherent connection with God and with others made a huge difference in what we were doing.

If you think about it, none of what we did would have made any sense if not for that—why in the world would someone expect, let alone allow, a group of teenagers and adults of varying levels of experience build a 20-foot wheelchair ramp? Why else would 13-year-olds be using power tools?

I realized that CCC was the embodiment of what Luke is trying to tell us in the Mary and Martha story. Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” It’s not about what we do. It’s about how and why we do it, and for whom we do it. CCC forced us to take the focus off ourselves for a week. None of what the youth and adults did this past week benefited them in any tangible way; in fact, particularly for working adults, it sounds crazy—take a week off work to sweat all day on a construction project in the middle of the North Carolina summer? And not get paid? Wait, we pay them to let us do that? It’s not about what we do. It’s about how, why, and for whom. The funny thing is that the answer to all of those questions should be the same. How? Like Jesus. With Jesus. Why? Because of Jesus. For whom? For Jesus and for his glory. Let’s not get worried and distracted. Let’s stay focused on God.

Field Notes #36: Faith in Action. Love in Person. CCC 2010.

I am SO clean right now. My shower/bath this afternoon involved 2 kinds of shampoo, conditioner, 2 kinds of soap, facial cleanser, body wash and lavender-scented Epsom salt. I feel glorious. My fingers and toes are even pruning, and being the short shower advocate that I am, I can't remember the last time that happened that wasn't swimming-related.

The rigorous cleaning was my response to a week-long accumulation of paint, dirt, grass, sweat, sawdust, and bug bites.

[Speaking of which, I have two bones to pick with God: ticks and chiggers. What is their purpose in creation? Seriously! They are evil! (No ticks this week, but chiggers? Oh yeah. Hence the Epsom salt.)]

ANYWAY. I just got back from a week of camp with Carolina Cross Connection. Here's the description from the organization's website:

"Carolina Cross Connection is a Christian outreach ministry in western North Carolina. It is an opportunity for youth, youth groups, college-age folks, and adults to spend a week of their summer serving families in need. Campers will perform a variety of home repairs, such as building wheelchair ramps, repairing porches, painting, yard work, and much more. Campers also strive to meet the social, emotional, and spiritual needs of the folks we work for, and to share the love of Christ with them. CCC is also an opportunity for youth and adults to grow in their faith through worship, devotions, team-building, and other in-camp activities led by our summer staff."

Their motto is "Faith in Action. Love in Person." I had a great week at CCC and now consider myself a supporter of the program. CCC is held at a variety of locations around North Carolina; this year, HCUMC was at Joshua Youth Camp, a Free Will Baptist youth camp in Albemarle. The facilities are undoubtedly camp-like but still great, and each day we were sent out in small groups to work for people in Albemarle, Concord and everywhere in between.

I could tell a zillion stories about CCC (and some will probably come out later--most likely in my sermon for tomorrow, actually), but I'm going to try to be brief. Perhaps what I liked the most about CCC was that I felt like they struck a great balance among several important things, namely worship/spiritual formation, service, and fellowship. I've been on all kinds of mission trips in my life, and I've had great experiences, but the intentionality of CCC's schedule was, I think, a wonderful embodiment of the life to which Christians are called.

Anyone who knows me can see this comparison coming a mile away, but I found myself thinking about how monastic life depends on a rhythm of ora et labora--prayer and work. At Christ in the Desert Monastery in New Mexico, the monks at this Benedictine monastery follow a disciplined schedule of prayer (7 times a day, starting at 4:00 a.m.), and in between, they do manual labor and study. I couldn't help but see our week of camp as reflecting that general idea--each day, we rose at 7:00, ate breakfast, had morning watch (devotion/quiet time with God) or worship, went out into the community to work, returned for dinner followed by fellowship and fun activities (funtivities?), and we ended our day with worship.

That's awesome. So much youth ministry responds to our culture's self-centeredness by feeding it, but the very design of CCC is to take these teenagers' (and adults'!) focus off themselves for a week. Just about everything we did was geared toward pulling us out of ourselves to center on God and to see him in other people.

Like I said, I'll probably tell more specific CCC stories later, and since this week's Gospel lesson is Mary and Martha, you can bet I've got plenty of sermon material to draw on now. Speaking of which, I should go write that...

Field Notes #35: Carolina Cross Connection

This morning we're headed out on a youth mission trip! We're going with Carolina Cross Connection (CCC) to Joshua Youth Camp in Albemarle. We'll be working in the area, worshipping and eating together, and I don't know what else, but I'm looking forward to being a part of it!

Field Notes #34: Sarah's Workspace

Since my room is a disaster right now, I decided to work in the living room today. At some point I took a look at my workspace (since it's not an office) and had to laugh. A Bible, a Book of Worship, my guitar, sheet music, my laptop...definitely *my* space.

Field Notes #33: Preaching on July 4: "I Wanna Get Washed Up"

(That's me wading in the Dead Sea in the spring of 1995.)

The Jordan River is not a very big river in global terms, but it is an important resource in the dry land through which it runs. For millennia, many peoples have depended on its water, often clashing over use and ownership of the currents. In the Old Testament, the Jordan often outlines someone’s inheritance; it also has served as a border of ancient Israel and as the site of army encampments in times of war. In the New Testament, it is where the first Christians are baptized—and where Jesus himself is baptized. Today, many make pilgrimages to the Jordan River to stand in its waters and remember their baptism or to be baptized. I received a blessing from an old friend in this very river when I traveled to Israel at age 8. Of course, the Jordan’s history of conflict and warfare is far from over; it is still a symbol of national pride in the Arab/Israeli conflict, and disputes over land ownership and use of the water rage on even today.

This little river becomes a major player in the story we just heard from 2 Kings. The narrative is full of irony—servants, prophets and a small water source end up being more important than kings and generals. If this were a Hollywood film, Naaman and the king of Israel would be on the movie poster, but they end up looking pretty foolish. Naaman is told that a prophet in Israel can heal him, so he writes to the king. Either he misunderstands the servant girl or just assumes that if any help can come from Israel, surely it would come from royalty. Similarly, the king of Israel is immediately suspicious of Naaman’s request, assuming he is trying to pick a fight—remember, this is an enemy general occupying Israeli land. Notice that both men make assumptions, both of which turn out to be wrong. Because of their pride, communication breaks down and Naaman almost misses his chance to be healed.

On the other hand, the servant girl and Elisha barely make cameos in the story, but they’re the ones who know what’s going on. This shows that this passage isn’t about Naaman and the king of Israel. But it’s not about the servant or Elisha, either. This story is about God. God is the main character. It would be hard to create a movie poster for such a plot, but let’s explore this a little further.

God has a hand in events from the very beginning of this passage. God’s first mention is actually pretty strange: the writer says that God used Naaman to give Aram victory. But wait, these are the bad guys. This is victory against Israel, God’s chosen people. What’s that about? I have two theories: one, that this is evidence that although God is not just at work among his people; and two, this is dramatic irony—Naaman may not realize it, but he already has reason to be grateful to the God of Israel.

The next time God’s name is mentioned, the king of Israel is getting something right: He cries, “Am I God, to give death or life?” We can pretty safely assume that this is a rhetorical question, and the answer is “No.” I could go on for a while about the implications of this—suffice to say that when answered truthfully, this question impacts our thoughts and decisions on healthcare, war, the justice system and much, much more.

Scanning the passage further, God comes up again as part of the title “Elisha the man of God.” Interesting that Naaman went first for help to the king and not to the man of God. But Elisha reaches out to Naaman anyway, saying, “Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” Even Elisha doesn’t get it yet: the miracle that’s coming up isn’t about his legitimacy as a prophet; it’s about God’s power and mercy. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Elisha tells Naaman exactly what he must to do be cured: wash in the Jordan River seven times. Sounds pretty simple, right? But Naaman is downright offended at this. He was looking for something more impressive. He was a victorious general, after all; he deserved it! Naaman says, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!” “For me,” he says. Naaman thinks he deserves a special miracle, not one that requires him to wash in a dinky river in Israel. And you know what else he says? “The Lord his God.” Naaman is not claiming the God of Israel in any form but a utilitarian one at this point. You’d think Elisha would just say, “Forget it.” And maybe he did—we don’t see Elisha again in this passage.

Luckily for Naaman, his servants keep their cool. Here we go with the minor characters again. I love what they say to their master: “If the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?” Naaman wanted a flashy miracle. He wanted a magic trick or an impressive feat with which he could earn his healing. His pride was keeping him from the thing he needed most. The servants point out, “All he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean.’” “Wash, and be clean.” Naaman is embarrassed, insulted even, at the simplicity of the task. “Wash, and be clean.”

Naaman’s reaction reflects not only excessive pride but also a lack of trust. William Sloane Coffin said wisely, “faith is not believing without proof but trusting without reservation.” I’m never really bothered when someone challenges me that there is no proof for the existence of God. Reason and knowledge are a part of faith, but they are not its substance. Love and trust are. Naaman had reservations that kept him from trusting, the main one being that he had a preconceived notion of what the miracle he sought would look like.

Did you ever hear the joke about the man who climbed onto the roof of his house during a flood? He prayed and prayed to God to send him help as the waters rose closer and closer to the top of the house. Before long, some people paddled by in a canoe. “Come on!” they cried, “Let us get you out of here!” But the man replied, “No, I’m waiting for God to rescue me.” A little later, a family drove by in a motorboat and offered to pick him up; again the man refused. As the waters started to lap at his feet, a helicopter flew down and tried to rescue him; but he stayed put. Finally, the man drowned, and when he went to heaven, he immediately marched up to God. “I’ve been a faithful Christian all my life,” he said, “and I prayed for you to rescue me, and you didn’t! Where were you?” God replied, “Good grief man, I sent you a canoe, a motorboat and a helicopter. What more did you want from me?”

Naaman almost ends up in the same boat as that man. (Pun intended.) If the miracle wasn’t going to happen his way, he just wasn’t going to accept it. Good thing he listened to his servants.

The only other reference to God in this passage is a mention of Elisha again as “the man of God.” The story ends with Naaman washing in the Jordan and being cured of his disease. But if we look at the next verse, we see that this isn’t just a healing narrative. Here’s verse 15: “Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.’” Elisha wanted to show Naaman that there was a prophet in Israel; he ended up introducing him to the God of Israel.

Here’s the interesting thing: Naaman’s faith was not a condition of his healing. His healing led to his faith. Here’s how Kathleen Robertson Farmer puts it: “It is his experience of salvation that brings about his faith, not the other way around! ...the grace of God is extended to those who do nothing to qualify for salvation.”

The response of many Christians to that statement may well be “No fair!” But if we’re honest with ourselves, the only thing we can do or say in response to this story’s message is to fall on our knees and say, “Thank God.” See, none of us can do anything to qualify for salvation. Nothing. God is not a vending machine in the sky; nor can we earn his love by being really good Christians. God’s love and mercy is offered to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, social status, creed, culture...all that matters is their status as children of God—and that’s everybody. It’s never been a question as to whether the grace is available. The question has always been: will we accept it? All God says to us is, “Wash, and be clean.” In the musical Godspell, Jesus comes to John the Baptist and says, “I wanna get washed up.” That’s all we have to say. “I wanna get washed up.” I wanna get washed up.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(My dad, brother and grandparents came to hear me preach!)

Field Notes #32: Perfectly Lonely

"Nothing to do / Nowhere to be / A simple little kind of free." These lines from John Mayer's song "Perfectly Lonely" (from his latest release, Battle Studies) popped in my head a little while ago. Ignore the rest of the song, which is about being happily single, and that's basically what I have going on today. I mean, I have things to get done, like my sermon for Sunday, but I don't have to go anywhere. I'm still in the pink shirt and green pants I wore to bed. I look like a watermelon. And I have had a lovely day so far.

I got up this morning to discover it was 66 degrees outside! That is amazing! I quickly made some coffee, grabbed my Bible, journal and a few books, and proceeded to drag an armchair and ottoman out onto the back deck. I was there for several hours, enjoying the day, reading, writing and praying, taking a "break" to walk around the track while I called my dad and brother, who got back from Brazil early this morning.

I have since moved inside, but I'm sitting in the room adjacent to the deck with the sliding glass door open so there's just a screen between me and the day. I'm letting ideas for my sermon percolate a bit more, but I'll probably commit something to paper at some point today. I'm hoping for one of those days where I take it easy and yet am productive. Love it.

Field Notes #31: Exploring the Campground

Before I came to Hill's Chapel UMC, this is what I thought was meant by the phrase "camp meeting": Dad doesn't wear a robe for 6 Sundays during the summer and we sing really old hymns.

I quickly learned that this is not what people around here are talking about when they mention camp meeting.

I started hearing words like "tents" and "weekend," and finally someone explained to me that the Rock Springs Camp Meeting goes on for 2 weeks and people actually stay in tents (which are really more like shacks that cost upwards of $40,000). My first reaction felt something like morbid fascination. I've never thought of myself as a city girl, but since coming here I've realized that to some extent I definitely am one.

Well, today Don Grice took me and LeaAnne out to lunch, and when he found out neither of us had seen the campground, he insisted that we take a tour after we ate. Camp meeting doesn't start until August, but there were already people there working on their tents and getting ready--and they knew right away that LeaAnne and I had never been there before. I was amazed. Someone had told me that parts of the campground looked like a third world country, and they were not wrong. Don showed us the inside of his family's "tent"--they have concrete floors, carpet, a second floor and a balcony, so their place is nice by comparison to many others.

After I got over the initial shock, I realized...this place is AWESOME! Thousands of people come to camp meeting, and yet you can let kids run around unattended without worrying about them getting lost or hurt, and everyone has benches and porch swings, and the arbor is actually really beautiful. I totally want to stay an extra day or two in Denver to experience camp meeting.

I didn't have my camera on me, but I took a bunch of pictures with my cell phone. Check these out:

Field Notes #30: Planning Toward July 4

I started musing in general, rambling terms about preaching/planning worship on July 4 in this post, and since then I've done more thinking and planning. Here's my basic approach this Sunday: I'm preaching on 2 Kings 5:1-14. My sermon is going to be about that passage. (And no, I have no idea what exactly I'm going to talk about just yet.)

Musical selections include "Down to the River to Pray," "Let the River Flow" (I arranged this one myself--maybe I'll record a rough version later), "Wade in the Water," "Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters," and "Shall We Gather at the River." (Ohmygosh it is hard to find decent versions of praise songs/hymns on YouTube. I apologize for some of these. I did my best.) Hopefully we'll also be able to do Needtobreathe's "Washed by the Water" as an offertory anthem. (Hint: we've got a water theme going on.)

I couldn't find a call to worship that I liked, so I wrote one:


L: This is the day that the Lord has made!
P: Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
L: Today we celebrate our freedom to love and worship God.
P: Let our worship be a declaration of dependence.
L: We come with a need for healing,
P: With wounds, with illness, with pride.
L: We come with a need to put God first,
P: Before ourselves, before our family, before all other loyalties.
L: We come to respond to a gracious invitation, “Wash, and be clean!”
P: We come seeking mercy and justice for all God’s people.


And here's an opening prayer from The United Methodist Book of Worship:


Almighty God, you rule all the peoples of the earth. Inspire the minds of all women and men to whom you have committed the responsibility of government and leadership in the nations of the world. Give to them the vision of truth and justice, that by their counsel all nations and peoples may work together. Give to the people of our country zeal for justice and strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will. Forgive our shortcomings as a nation; purify our hearts to see and love the truth. We pray all these things through Jesus Christ. Amen.


That pretty much sums up my approach to Sunday, July 4.

Field Notes #29: Comet!... Starship!...

Yet again, I should be in bed (and will be very soon, trust me). Tonight was the last night of Vacation Bible School at Hill's Chapel. Our Bible story today was about the blind beggar, and we also learned about comets, so all our stories and activities had something to do with one or both of those things. For my part, the suggested games turned out to be a little too complicated, but one thing that worked well was playing "Marco, Polo" but changing it to "Comet, Starship." I know, I'm the most creative person you've ever met. Anyway, the point I tried to convey was that if you're blind, you have to listen to know where you're going and where people are, and Jesus listened to the blind beggar. All in all, we had a good time, hopefully the kids learned something, and now I have the "Galactic Blast" theme song stuck in my head. Check out this short slideshow I put together of select photos I took over the course of VBS:

Field Notes #28: Planet, Planet, STAR!

I know I should be in bed, but here's my brief update on day 2 of VBS. We gained a few more kids, so today was a little crazy at times--thank goodness for our awesome volunteers! The Bible story for the day was the woman at the well (John 4:1-42). I got to sit in on one of the storytelling sessions, and it was pretty cool.

I had planned to use 2 of the games outlined for the day, but since the weather was sort of touch-and-go, I tabled the one that had to be outside and modified the other to make life simpler. We also played a modification of "Duck, Duck, Goose"--we played "Planet, Planet, Star." That was hysterical with the littlest ones, most of which either didn't get it or didn't want to play or just wanted to go to the playground (which we did, eventually). But it was fun. The kids are really sweet, and hopefully they're learning something.

The other fun part for me was that my boyfriend, Gary, is in town visiting. He's great with teenagers, but little kids make him nervous, so I was concerned he wouldn't enjoy helping out with VBS (though he agreed to be there, of course). But when he got asked to be the puppeteer and voice for the mad scientist, he not only went along with it, he supplied a voice that left me (also crouched behind the altar rail, playing the part of the gorilla Galileo) struggling not to laugh out loud. A few of the kids are starting to figure out the puppet trick, though one of my favorite quotes from yesterday was in reference to Galileo: "And he's REAL!!!" I love kids.

A few images from today:

Commander Val setting the stage for the day's Bible story.

Looks like Alix tagged Faith in "Planet, Planet, Star."

Field Notes #27: Blast Off!

Today was the first day of Vacation Bible School at HCUMC! I had a fun first day with "Galactic Blast." Never one to shy from committing to a theme, I got a boys' size 8 Buzz Lightyear t-shirt for $5 at Wal-Mart, cut off the sleeves and squeezed it over a t-shirt that actually fits. I'm in charge of games, and I quickly learned that although the 9- t0 11-year-olds had fun with "Creation Station Relay" and "Planet Toss," trying to coordinate 3- to 5-year-olds for a relay race is like herding cats. But the playground is fun, and I'll adjust my approach tomorrow anyway.

Here are two of my favorite pictures from today. I'll put together a slideshow once VBS is over.

Torin playing with Galileo.

Braden and me showing off our Buzz Lightyear t-shirts.

Field Notes #26: Moon Rocks and Space Monkeys

We started sorting through VBS decorations. Alix and I had fun with this.

There is only one way to describe this picture: BOSS.

Alix with Galileo, the (inexplicably) green, galactic gorilla.

Field Notes #25: The Backwoods General Store

Today, a church member took myself, Val and LeaAnne to lunch. She warned us ahead of time that we might be a little concerned when we saw the place, but that they had great food. She was right on both counts. Here's how you get to the aptly named Backwoods General Store: get to the middle of nowhere in north Gaston County, then keep driving. Outside, you see this sign and a somewhat worse for the wear building with a bright orange door. Inside are 6 tables, so I'm told--I only saw 3; they're all ensconced in a labyrinth of antique furniture, books, toys, games, pictures and all sorts of odds and ends, including birdhouses, baskets, boxes and more made of or decorated with wine corks. If I'd had the time to poke around, you probably wouldn't have seen me for several hours, as I'd be bound to get lost in exploring the place and its contents.

Oh, and the food. My goodness. Talk about a square meal, and I'm talking classy yet inexpensive. I ordered the smothered chicken--incredibly tender, juicy chicken covered with tomatoes, roasted red peppers, bacon, mushrooms and cheese--with a side of fresh fruit and roasted broccoli (which had cheese and spices of some sort on top, and was delicious). All that came with a roll and a drink. The chef doesn't have a dishwasher, so everything is served on paper plates, and in lieu of drinks in cups, your options are bottled water or canned soda. Everything was wonderful, and I was sorely tempted to try dessert but restrained myself.

It may be out of the way, but Backwoods is getting attention--I was told that at night there's a line out the front door to eat there, and you can check out this article in the Gaston Gazette for a review. The plan, apparently, is for them to relocate to Gastonia in order to be more accessible not only to the faithful clients who trek out there regularly but also to the not-yet-enlightened who will surely benefit from exposure to the food. What an experience.

Field Notes #24: Flashlights, Group Reflection, Green Space Monkeys and Authority

"Though by the path he leadeth,
But one step I may see."

I had never really paid attention to those two short lines (from "His Eye Is On the Sparrow," lyrics by Civilla Martin) until last night when we sang them at choir practice. I journalled about it last night. The image of following God being like driving a car through pitch black darkness and only seeing the road directly in front of you where the headlights shine--that has been helpful to me as I've sought to follow God, not knowing really where I'm going. Of course, often I feel like all I have is a flashlight or even just a cell phone to light the way, but I have to remember Jeremiah 29:11--"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." I may not know where I'm going, but God does, and I have to trust and rest in that.

Yesterday we had our group reflection meeting with those of us doing field ed in the general vicinity of Charlotte (ish). It was cool to see some of my friends again, to get to know some pre-enrollment students, and to hear about other people's field ed experiences so far. Plus we started off with worship led by half the group, which was very cool. Also, one of my friends is placed at my dad's church, so it was neat to hear about her experience there.

Yesterday we got a bunch of decorations and props for VBS from my old home, Davidson UMC. We are SO thankful that they were willing to share--we have moon rocks, a mission control station, loads of inflatable space shuttles, several sets of planets (I didn't check to see if Pluto got included), great backdrops for storytelling, a green space monkey, and more. We're also working on integrating the science unit into our schedule--the curriculum has all these cool demonstrations that fit in with the Bible stories for each day, and we have a number of scientifically-minded folks in the church who will have a lot of fun with that. People are excited about VBS and eager to help, which is so great. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm off to do some reading--Val gave me Jackson Carroll's book As One With Authority: Reflective Leadership in Ministry (look for it in my "What I'm Reading" blog series soon) and bookmarked a few chapters of particular interest for me to read and for us to talk about. I'm realizing that although I've always wishes people would respect me and get past the fact that I'm short, blonde and look like I'm 14, I sometimes rely on and feed into that because I'm actually uncomfortable with authority. I pull a Jeremiah pretty regularly--"Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy" (Jer. 1:6). But even though I'm "just an intern," I do have authority, and even though I sometimes don't want to think about it, it's something that's really important for me to begin to get my head around, something about which I need to be intentional.