Synergy

I recently received an e-mail from a very good friend whom I had not heard from in about three years.  He wanted a copy of a presentation on “synergy” which he once heard me give. 

I was surprised.  Not that it had been three years since I had heard from him—that is about how often we reconnect.  I was surprised that he remembered the presentation.  That surprised me for a couple of reasons.  One was that it has been at least twelve years since I gave that presentation.  So, I was surprised he remembered it.  I was not really surprised that I, on the other hand, did not remember it.  (I sometimes have trouble remembering what I said last week.…That is not a sign of poor memory but an indication that maybe I say too much.)

I wrote back and confessed I had no idea what presentation he was talking about.  I asked him to hum a few bars to see if I could recognize the tune and maybe start to sing.  He refreshed my memory and sure enough there was a growing recognition.

I share this story because I was surprised at how relevant the topic of “synergy” is in each of our lives after so long.  You see, “synergy,” at the risk of oversimplifying what it took me a couple of hours to explain originally, is the idea that when components of a whole project are pieced together the total outcome is greater than the sum of the individual parts. 

Isn’t that true of our life together as a congregation?  When each member of a congregation joins in the task of being the people of God something beyond the ordinary happens.  By your being the best you can be it reinforces who I can be and what I have to contribute.  Likewise, when I do my part the result is not that others are overshadowed but that they actually find their own contributions accentuated.  Through the joint efforts of everyone the outcome surpasses the sum of individual efforts.

“Synergy” is a good principle to remember.  We all want to get the most out of our efforts.  A great way to be sure that happens is by having our efforts multiplied through our life together as a congregation.  Likewise, it should give us satisfaction and inspiration to be reminded that even if it seems we have very little to offer, that through “synergy” each effort is multiplied by our shared life.

Of course, beyond the issues related to “synergy” we have at work in our congregation the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.  It is the character of God to touch and bless and make more abundant than we could imagine what we offer in service to kingdom purposes.

The task of being the church, the people of God, easily becomes overwhelming.  God has set us together in families—families of faith—to sustain and multiply our efforts.  Together as Bethany-Peace and together with other families of faith let us be focused and committed to the mission which is ours. 

Abandoned?

“How do you know when God is present with you?”  It was just one of the questions raised from the newly formed Faith Formation class I am teaching to our older children at Bethany-Peace.

Others have asked the same question.  I have been asked this question by those who are in the midst of the pain of isolation and despair.  It is a question that you may have asked or may be asking right now.  It is a question I have asked myself on more than one occasion. 

This question, “How do you know when God is present with you?” was raised by the Faith Formation class in response to a recent sermon.  This is an indication that knowing when God is present is an issue that is not necessarily answered in a sermon or even in the singing of a hymn of assurance.  It is a question that cannot be answered with any level of satisfaction by sermonic platitudes, “triage theology,” or even testimonies of someone else’s faith experience.  Nor will it be answered completely by the words on this page.

Sitting with the honesty of this question and the emotions from which the question comes is the key to experiencing the truth of God’s abiding presence in our lives in and through all circumstances.  There is no question that when we ask this question that there are very real feelings of abandonment.  There is no question that these feelings are the result of having been disappointed, let down, betrayed or hurt.  It is also true that these feelings have resulted from within a relationship that was of great significance to us.  Someone, or something, in whom we trusted has not come through or is no longer available in a way that is comforting or helpful.  We are, in fact, abandoned.  The critical issue is who or what is gone.  We may be assuming that it is God who has left us or failed us.  This leaves us in what some have called “a crisis of faith.” 

It may be that we have come to associate many of the sources of our security with God.  While the sources of security may have arrived as messengers of God and expressions of God’s goodness, they are not God.  The very fact that a system would fail us, that a relationship would change or turn against our good proves that these things and people are not God.  Standing in the midst of the pain of abandonment we may realize that what we had thought God to be was not God at all.  It was what we had come to trust for deliverance, satisfaction or fulfillment.  We may have had our needs met effectively or been reasonable in expecting to have our needs met in these places but to assume this was God is a mistake.  So, the issue is what has failed us; who has abandoned us?  Looking carefully at this question lets us know that the source of our pain is something that certainly is no God at all. 

So, where does that leave God?  Our Faith Formation class came to rest in remembering that God’s covenant with us is that God is always present and there is not a time that God is not present.  When we understand clearly who God is and displace our illusions of who God is then it may become more possible to be aware or experience God’s promised abiding presence.  It is not God who has abandoned us but it is certain that God is with us in our times of abandonment.   

Each Step Is The Destination

Dianne and I recently wanted to take the girls for a hike.  Looking for a suitable place in our favorite hiking guide book, we decided upon the Shaw Arboretum in Gray Summit.  The book said it was a three and a half mile walk and should take us about two hours if we checked out all of the points of interest along the trail.  We thought that should be doable and with the daffodils in bloom it would be a nice way to spend an early spring morning.

I guess the day we went was a bit unusual.  We did, indeed, spend the two hours but we did not quite make the full three and a half miles.  In fact, we walked less than one mile into the trail, carrying Elsa most of the way.   Then we had to return by the same way, carrying both Elsa and Katy, to make it back in time to get to our next event.  You see, on that particular day there was a turtle family sunning on a log in the pond.  We spent about twenty minutes watching them.  The girls also found, on that particular day, that there was an abundance of rocks that needed to be thrown into the water.  They found two baby snakes that caused further delay.  Crossing the stream on stepping stones also proved to be something that needed to be done repeatedly before moving on.

When we attempted to explain our tardiness in arriving at our next stop by saying we had spent a little too long at the Arboretum it was met with confusion.  “Isn’t that the place that just has leaves?  How could you spend that long there?”

   

It is possible that we approach our relationship with God in some of the same ways.  There are some who see the leaves and some who see the revelation hidden within the leaves.  Some folks tend to follow well marked trails and concentrate on the points laid out by those who have gone before them; points which are constant and unchanging from one person’s journey to the next.  Then there are those who seem to not even be aware there are any trails laid out or any sort of destination.  They simply observe and take time to notice God’s presence in everything that is around them.  They are the ones who find the utmost pleasure in each moment of every day.  Each step IS the destination.

In this journey of faith the important part is not so much about completing a course.  It is not so much about visiting all of the same places others have stopped.  It is more about encountering God where you are at the moment and experiencing that divine presence in your own way and on your own journey.  When we begin to approach God in this way our experience will not be measured in the distance we travel but in the number of turtles, rocks and snakes we find.     

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God,

But only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”

                                                                                                                                 --Elizabeth Barrett Browning

No More Bagels

It came as a shock but not really as any surprise.  “No more bagels.”  After the doctor said those words things were a blur as I began to imagine what it would be like.  No more bagels.  No more stops for coffee and bagels with my morning Psalms.  No more visits to my favorite stop on the way to work.  How could I not eat bagels?  It had become so much of my morning routine; a part of my identity.  What would life be like without bagels?  Was there life after bagels?

Yet, I could not argue with the cold hard facts of the lab reports.  The numbers were clear.  It was time for a change in my diet and the bagels were to be the first and most drastic change among many that I would have to make to move toward better health.

Reluctantly, I sat with my wife and began to search for ways to pursue the changes the doctor had advised in my diet.  I saw the names of food I had never eaten in my life.  I saw names of food I did not even recognize.  Now I was supposed to eat this instead of bagels.  Responding to Dianne’s positive lead and enthusiasm there was a glimmer of hope.  I would try to eat it, especially after the amount of time and energy she was putting in to research and shopping and preparing new foods, all so I would have a healthier diet. 

It was not bad.  In fact, it was surprisingly good.  I could eat fruit and vegetables and not starve.  I could even enjoy these new foods.  But the most surprising part was the impact it had on my body.  I had more energy and felt better than I had felt for years.  Could it really be making this big a difference so quickly?

I found new places to stop for my morning Psalms.  There were parks and stops along the Mississippi River that afforded a welcoming setting for gaining the spiritual focus that would be necessary for the day.  I had broken out of the confines of the coffee shop.

The discovery of these new foods and new sanctuaries would never have been made as long as I had a bagel in my hand.  It proved what I had been telling others about change may just be on the right track.  I had felt the pain of change but when I moved past the frozen paralysis of the shock there was a lot to discover.  Letting go of what had been my reality was necessary to discover what awaited me.  Once I accepted the inevitable change and got through the pain there were new possibilities waiting. 

Why is it so difficult to accept change, so difficult to let go, so difficult to trust that we will be alright even if things are not what we want them to be?  After all, we have all experienced change before and are certain to face more change.  When change comes, and it will, we have the choice of resisting it or embracing it and finding a new way to engage in life as it has come to be.

Who knows what we will find if we but venture into the change courageously?  One thing for sure, there is life after bagels!

Called Along Side

Do you remember learning to ride a bicycle?  Or, maybe, teaching your son or daughter to ride one?  Katy is braving the park without the training wheels this spring. 

Katy has a fear of going down inclines—speed is more Elsa’s thing.  It seems easier for her when she has to peddle rather than coast.  Going straight is also preferable to turning left or right.  And, of course, she demands that I stay right beside her at all times.

Instructing Katy on her bike brings back a lot of memories for me and offers a lot of spiritual lessons.  For instance, like Katy, I sometimes get a little anxious in response to increasing momentum.  I begin to wonder if I am going to be able to maintain balance at the dangerous pace things are progressing.  Even if it is a bit more work to climb an incline at least I feel more in control.  Strength is easier to come by than courage.  Changing direction is also a fear Katy and I have in common.  Keeping my eyes forward and focusing on an established point helps me set my course.  Having to deal with a new direction breaks my concentration and I feel as if I am beginning to wobble.

Then there is that all important issue of having a protective presence with me.  There are times when I need the reassurance that if I begin to lose my balance someone will catch me; guidance will be there when I need it.  I need to know that when I am trying something new or risky I am not alone.

As we enter into the season of Pentecost our minds turn intently toward the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is that presence of God which is always with us; always a voice of guidance and encouragement; the Comforter whom Jesus promised to send to us.  With the sustaining presence of the Holy Spirit we have all we need to continue to enjoy the fullness of the mission of Christ and our place in it.  Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we are equipped to face the fears and dangers ahead of us.  We will be able, with the help of the Spirit, to keep our spiritual balance regardless of momentum or incline.  We will be able to navigate all of the twists and turns that our paths may take.  We have the reassurance that if, or when, we fall there will be a restorative hand offered to lift us and set us back on our way.   

I will not be able to stay beside Katy much longer as she continues to develop skill and speed. 

As she develops confidence she will not even want me to be with her while she is riding.  There will come a day very soon when she is surprised to find that she is riding on her own without any help from Dad.  Yet, life requires more balance than a bicycle.  Katy’s trust, and mine, will have to be placed in the Holy Spirit whose coming we celebrate in Pentecost.  It is comforting to me to remember that the Greek word for Holy Spirit literally means “the one called along side.”  Let us not only celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost but let us also celebrate the Holy Spirit who stays at our side, now and always.