Oh-Kay!

Spring break is almost here! I expect that many of you will take the week to jet off somewhere fun or try to get away for a break.

I hope you take some time for relaxation and enjoy some spring weather. But let me warn you — when you get back to church, get ready for some pleasant changes!

For one, over spring break, we’re having the rest of the repair work done on the top and ground floors from the January 1st burst pipe. We’re getting some rooms and hallways re-floored and re-painted. (We’ve already had the second floor hall and children’s ministry room re-carpeted.) Believe me, it’s going to look great!

You’ll also notice something else different on Sunday, March 18. You’ll see a new person in the chancel with me, Ken, and Jonathan. We will welcome our new staff member, Rev. Kay Ash, who begins as our full-time Director of Christian Education.

I am very excited to welcome Kay to Kessler Park UMC. For one, this marks a significant and important step up for our church. For the first time in a while, this church will have TWO appointed clergy on staff. Kay is a commissioned deacon in the North Texas Conference, and is on pace to be ordained in two years.

I will give Kay a chance to introduce herself once she joins us, but suffice it to say that her resume is quite impressive. She graduated from American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, where she worked as an actor and dancer for 18 years before moving back to Dallas, where she earned a Masters degree from Perkins School of Theology.  She has worked in children’s ministry at Bridgeport Camp, Arapaho UMC in Richardson, and currently at First UMC Gainesville.

Her responsibilities at KPUMC will include overseeing all aspects of children’s ministry, including the nursery, Parents Day Out, and our regular children’s programming, including Vacation Bible School and Easter Parade.

To be honest, I didn’t know Kay before she applied for this job, but since getting to know her, I have been blown away by her energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge of ministry with children. I know that she’s the right person for the job at this moment in time, and I’m excited that we will all benefit from her wisdom.

I’m grateful to Nell Lind, Ashley Shultz, Sally Climer, Wendy Ogren, and everyone else who has pitched in to assist with ongoing children’s programs since Erin Klein left us. They have gone above and beyond to keep things going while we waited for Kay to join us.

And I’m also thankful to Cammy Gaston, our district superintendent, and Bishop Mike McKee who made this appointment happen. They recognized that our church will flourish under Kay’s guidance and leadership.

This is a good time to be part of the family of Kessler Park UMC. God is doing something very cool here!

Lessons From the World's Worst Missionary

    As I pointed out in the sermon on Sunday, the figure of Jonah is a caricature. He is a terrible prophet and a petulant little man. I consider him the worst missionary ever!
    That’s why he is such a helpful character to ponder as we consider how to do mission right. Starting next Wednesday night at 6:30 pm, I’ll be leading a class on missions, and attempt to lay out a full theology, strategy, and spirituality for the church as we improve the way we help and serve others.
    But first let’s see what we can learn from Jonah about how not to do missions:

1. Jonah went alone. Missions is never a solo venture; it’s not meant for Lone Rangers. The first and most glaring problem with Jonah’s travels to Nineveh is that he didn’t take anybody with him. Therefore, there was nobody to support and encourage him, nobody to hold him accountable, nobody to talk common sense to him. When we attempt to do missions all by ourselves, no matter how noble or worthy, we are doomed to fail.
    
2. Jonah didn’t learn the language. Did you notice that Jonah makes absolutely no preparation for his mission trip? He didn’t attempt to learn the language, the local culture, or anything else at all about the context to which he was traveling. I have a picture in my mind of Jonah walking through the middle of the city proclaiming, “In forty days, you will be overthrown!” in Hebrew, as people looked on with amusement since they couldn’t understand a word he was saying. The fact that the people and the king ended up being converted by this very brief sermon in a foreign language is a satirical jab at Jonah’s disinterest in actually communicating to the Ninevehites.
    
3. Jonah didn’t befriend any Ninevehites. Again, the whole point of the story is that Jonah hated Nineveh. He didn’t want them to experience God’s shalom. That is most obvious by his absolute disregard of the people themselves. He didn’t take any steps to get to know them, understand them, or create friendships.
    
4. Jonah viewed himself as superior to the Ninevehites. Obviously, Jonah thought his religion and culture better than Nineveh’s, and he saw himself as going to impose his worldview on that city. This is a subtle and malicious error that Christian missionaries have perpetuated throughout the centuries. Many of the 19th-century, so-called missionaries to Africa, for example, were nothing but Western colonizers, setting the stage for economic exploitation. But we make the same mistake when we view ourselves as superior to those whom we serve.
    
5. Jonah was in a hurry. Note that he didn’t care to stick around the city very long. He did the absolute bare minimum of God’s command; he stuck to the letter of the law. Then he left and climbed the mountain to watch the destruction. He wanted immediate results to his missionary activity, and so often, the same is true of our own efforts. The truth about missions is that the most enduring, long-lasting, and best work is done over a long period of time. Short-term mission work is usually just that — short-term, and can be very damaging.

    Imagine how the Book of Jonah would have read if Jonah were a model character, an exemplary prophet. It would have been pretty boring! No big fish, no bean plant, no pouting prophet.
    Instead, we would read of a man who assembled a team of men and women who cared deeply about Nineveh’s history and culture, learned their language, listened to the people in the city, sipped coffee with them in their cafes, received hospitality from them, and lived with them for a long time. Perhaps eventually this team would get around to making suggestions, offering a hand, or building something. But this would only happen after a long period of listening, reflection, prayer, and study.
    Like I said, it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting as the whale story. But it would make a lasting difference toward establishing God’s kingdom.

Mapping Our Way in Missions

    I heard a (newer) member of the church say recently that she felt like she had grown closer to God since joining our community. That was music to my ears; one of my primary goals as a pastor is to foster spiritual growth. I am committed to helping each one of you to grow in your relationship with God.
    But she followed that remark with the observation that she didn’t really know how to get involved with any of the church missions. She was unclear about how to take that step.
    I understand her confusion. We have lots of mission projects, but they are a bit disconnected and disparate.
    Over the last couple of years, our church has taken significant steps in becoming more and more mission-oriented. We have been slowly reorienting our gaze outward rather than inward. We have fostered a number of new ministries through the formation of Catalyst Groups; we have bolstered the work we do with some long-standing organizations, like the Hillcrest House and The Well; and we have continued supporting other United Methodist projects.
    All this mission energy has been good for us. But it has also been a little disorienting, as this young member expressed. Some of you have complained to me that it feels like we do a little bit too much, that we have our hands in too many different projects. Others have said they would like to go deeper in their particular ministries, lack the tools and resources to make it happen.
    This spring, I will offer a class after Wednesday Night dinners to reorient our sense of mission. This class is open to all, and it will be the only class for adults on Wednesday nights, because I would like as many of you as possible to attend.
    I’m calling it “Mission Action Planning,” or MAP, for short. I've constructed it as a kind of primer on mission work. I'll talk about why mission work is important for the church, as well as what to do and what not to do when helping people. Some of the lessons are more theological and Biblical; others are more sociological and psychological. We’ll meet for 12 weeks, and you’re welcome to attend all or any particular session. I’m planning to cover the following topics:

What it Means to be a Missional Church
Being Present: Learning to Be in the Mission Field
Building Relationships: The Core of Mission
Cross-Cultural Competencies
Beyond “Helping”: Learning to Do Justice
Decolonizing Mission
Embracing a Missional Theology
Practicing a Contemplative Spirituality
Short-Term Trips/Long-Term Results
Releasing Outcomes
How to Form a Catalyst Group
The Role of the Mission Committee

    Some of the material might sound familiar to those who have been through Catalyst Training, and there will be some overlap. However, I’m adding new material, and changing much of what I have already taught. Plus we’ll have some guest presenters. You’ll find this to be a helpful refresher course in “how to do mission right,” as I like to put it.    
    The first class takes place after dinner on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 6:30 pm, and will last for an hour. Please come and participate as we “MAP” out our missions, and learn how to effect creative change in our world.