Answer the Call with the People Around You

It seems that privacy (even in relationships) is really hard to come by these days with a world that is ever connected.  Have you ever thought to yourself, the world might be better without cell phones?

The world is connected in an instant … need proof? You are reading this blog! (Gotcha!) Some of you I don't even know, but for this connection. And yet I am somehow connected to you via this thing called the internet.  

The beauty of this connected world is that it can breaks down the divisions that often keep us apart - things like economics, race, income, social status, etc.  The end result is that Social Division and Personal Isolation have decreased … Sort of … Because this connected world has also led to a mixed bag of outcomes that means Social Division and Personal Isolation have increased. 

You see our globally connected world has caused us to lose some of the common practices in our daily lives that brought about community. In the past two decades:

• Attendance at community club groups is down 58%
• Daily Family Dinners have decreased by 43%
• And the simple practice of having friends over has decreased by 35% 

There are 7 Billion people in the world all connected at an instant and yet they are learning to live life alone while remaining connected to one another. This is the irony of the ever-connected world …

I wish I could tell you that is a problem that has eluded the church. After all from the beginning while Jesus called each of us individually and yet we seemed to find ways to keep one another at a distance. 
 
What is most often translated church in the Bible is really Ecclessia, A Greek word meaning a gathering of the called out ones – that is us – that is the church. 

This Ecclessia (gathering) was to be the cornerstone of our life together as disciples. 

For [Christ] Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility Ephesians 2:14 NIV 

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. John 17:11 NIV 

You see, living our faith in this world cannot done be done alone. That was never the plan! And yet, the history of our faith has not played out that way.  As Christians, through the centuries (and still today), we hold onto old divisions both inside the church and outside. We mark our territories … by theology, by creed, by race, by economics, by politics. As a result, instead of the church being a place of unity, we become a house divided unto ourselves.  Fighting over petty things … that in the totality of our existence don’t matter! 

And that was never the plan or the call for each of us. Our call was to love God and love one another.
And that love is more than just a connection … it is a relationship. 

The proof of this is FACEBOOK. Of the many friends that you have connected with … how many do you have a relationship with?  A real relationship … call them in the middle of the night … have them take the call. 

We have learned to settle for connection … and in so doing we have come to believe that connection is the same as relationship. 

In answering God’s call in our lives, we are called to live our faith together. And our coming together is something quite unexpected. The reality of it is this … look around … we are not the same … our coming together is quite unexpected … the only thing that could possible bring us together is the call of God in our lives. 

And th irony of our coming together as individuals is that we need each other. We do our best work together. That is a cornerstone of Methodism – we can do more together than we can separately. 

You see … this call we each receive is never isolated … it can’t be … You love others when you are in relationship with them … not simply connected but in relationship with! And that is the church – the gathering of the Ecclesia – or the Called Ones. We are called out of this world (as exiles) to practice together our calling to Love God and Love others. 

And that means that ‘my call’ will only truly discovered in the context of ‘our call.’ It is then, and only then, that we will be free to live our calling as individuals and as a church. And boy do we need to get better at living our call – individually and as a church. That’s in part why we gather each week - we need the practice. That’s why we encourage you to get involved with a small study group. 

Because every time we gather together – we each bring our brokenness, our loneliness, our emptiness, our disconnection with us. And yes, the result is that our life together in community is often more broken than whole – more divided than one … and that is okay … as long we as continue together to practice and practice and practice – in order to get better … to get it right … 

Because when we as a community of Called Ones get it right … it is a wonderful thing! The trouble for many is that countless moments go un-noticed by most of the world.

And I know that there are also times we get it wrong … and that is why we (in part) we keep coming back together --- to rehearse --- in hopes of getting it wonderfully right again … 

So don’t give up on us … Help us by learning to spread that message of hope and love for something more … Answer the call and be part of the voice that calls others to God … 

We want to be a place in this world … in this community … where God is loved first and fore most and our love of God drives us to love others … We won’t be perfect … and it won’t always be pretty or easy … Some of our difficulties in living out this call our summarized in the great quote:
“I love humanity; it is people I can’t stand”

I am still convinced that was uttered by someone having just left a church committee meeting! But I might remind you … It is the people and not humanity that we are called to love … We are connected to humanity … we are in loving relationships with people!  And it is those people that We are called to love tenderly and to serve 

We are called together to live this calling … and we are called to practice it over and over …
So I urge you to seek one another out … and practice loving one another … and keep practicing until we can always get it right.

Preparing for the Unknown?

It seems cliché but really where does time go?  It doesn’t seem that long ago that our son Riley was heading off to school for the first time.  Every year we would meet with the teachers to plan goals for the year.  I would make a passionate speech: “Your job is to get him ready for the next year of school—no more, no less.  Don’t make decisions about his future that are not yours to make. Keep him on course and on track this year.  It is not for you to decide what his future holds. It is your role to help him take steps in getting there!”  Sherry always called it the "Papa Bear" speech.

This June our little boy graduates from New Castle High School. We plan to celebrate as a family on Sunday June 7th all the work that Riley has done to reach this day. He has overcome obstacles, lived though constant change, and succeeded.  

There are no more teacher meetings to attend … just a future that remains unknown.  And that is somewhat daunting because the work is not done, but rather it is just beginning … again. Riley’s future still lies ahead, but the work that must now be done will be vastly different than the past years and in some ways it will remain the same. What now? is the question we ask as the future as seemingly arrived.

I have come to realize that Riley’s journey is very reflective of our journey as United Methodists and as a church. We are on the cusp of great change. 

Our General Conference will convene in one year in Portland, Oregon.  There is certain to be change that will result from that Conference.  Our own Indiana Annual Conference convenes this week to elect delegates for that conference and to potentially vote on proposals to send to General Conference.  And this too will be the next to last Annual Conference that our Bishop will preside over as he will retire in 2016.

One thing is certain for our Denomination and our Annual Conference — change is coming!  What change is hard to say and that is what makes it scary - the unknown.  The same could be said for our church - the unknown is scary.

Change is coming.  What exactly that change will be is unknown, but we are past the time we can simply look at the year ahead and say, “Get us to next year and that will be OK.”  The time has come for us, as a church and as United Methodists, to grasp the future amidst our reality and plan accordingly.  The world is not the same, nor will it remain as it is.  We must plan now to meet the future unafraid.

Amazing things are a part of our history. Amazing things are happening all around us in places we work together. Many more amazing things are waiting for us in the future.  

Need proof of what can happen with a bit of planning and hard work? 

Stop by the New Castle Fieldhouse on June 7th and I will introduce you to my son, Riley Frieden, class of 2015.  The future has arrived and it looks great (and not as scary as we once thought).