Progress is a trade

It’s easy to imagine that over there, just a few steps ahead, our problems will disappear.

Pessimists, of course, are sure that instead of disappearing, tomorrow will make things worse.

The truth is pretty simple: All we do, all we ever do, is trade one set of problems for another.

Problems are a feature. They’re the opportunity to see how we can productively move forward. Not to a world with no problems at all, but to a situation with different problems, ones that are worth dancing with.[Seth Godin, July 28, 2021]

In my sermons this past four months I’ve noted that some of us are thinking about “getting back to normal” or “back to before.”  Maybe “before” wasn’t nearly as good as we think it was or as meaningful as “right now” is or tomorrow might be.  I don’t consider myself an optimist. Some might call me a pessimist.  I think I’m a realists, but let’s quibble over labels another day.

Covid-19 forced most of us into situations we never wanted to be in, and decisions we never wanted to make.  It presented us (me) with opportunities to reflect on how I am living.  Where did I spend my time and to what or whom did I give my attention.  Was that good for me? Was that good for my family, friends, and my following Jesus?

The coronavirus did the same thing to the institutions, myths, and stories we rely upon, support, and participate in that act as a compass for our lives.  It continues to do so. It’s the hardest thing: to decide what problems are opportunities worthy of attention and which ones just distract and nag, willingly or not, from meaningful living and helping our neighbors.

One thing that Covid-19 has made clearer for me is that being super busy doesn’t mean one is successful. It may mean we are over functioning or are workaholics or are fearful of idle time.  It may mean that one doesn’t have the clarity to say “no” to the less important or the filters to sift important from unimportant in the short term and long term. And, it could be that one has focused on the very important for their lives and kicked into hyperdrive.

I don’t know if church, youth group, Christianity, or following Jesus, any or all, are important for you.  They may be problems worth dancing with.

May God’s shalom find you and may you live in God’s shalom.

From/to

Freedom has a partner, and its name is responsibility.
It’s easy to insist on all the things we should be free from.
But then we realize that we also have the freedom to act, to lead and to confront our fear and our selfishness. Once we realize our own agency, freedom begins to feel like a responsibility.
The freedom to make a difference.(1)

Last month that is what we practiced at church camp: responsibility.  Intentional Christian Community, or any intentional community, is something you have to want.  It’s a balancing act.  It’s a different kind of freedom.  It’s a responsibility.  And that is one of the lessons from church camp this summer as campers and volunteer staff learned about how creation speaks to humanity and God is made known.

The adults that volunteer directors and counselors are the strength of our outdoor ministry program.  The children and youth lived with our Covid-19 procedures with grace and acceptance that this was required for church camp to happen this year.  They altered their own behavior on behalf of the community.  They practiced individualism within community.  We cannot say “thank you” enough to the campers and our adult volunteers.  You’ve set an example for the rest of us about how to be intentional Christian community.

—
Note
1)  Seth Godin, “From/to.” July 4, 2021.

“Take your time”

It means two very different things.

When a person or a marketer takes your time, they’re stealing. Something irretrievable is gone. If your time is taken for selfish reasons, if it’s wasted, there’s no good way to get it back.

On the other hand, when you have enough confidence to take your own time, to take your time to be present, to do the work, to engage with what’s in front of you right now, it’s a gift.

This is precisely what time is for.

We’re not in a race to check off as many boxes as we possibly can before we are out of time. Instead, we have the chance to use the time to create moments that matter. Because they connect us, because they open doors, because the moments, added up, create a life.
(Seth Godin,”Take your time.” May 29, 2021.)

In a “time” when everything matters how do you determine what matters most?  I’m an old Gen X’er and a version of this question has been part of my conscious existence since the middle 1980’s when I was a college student.  The Covid-19 pandemic may have helped some of us answer the question, “when everything matters what matters most?”  Did it for you?  And yet, as people rush back to time before the pandemic I wonder what we’ve learned?  Really.

I think part of our Disciples ethos is that we value the decision making process: how and why.  Church Camp, like other camp experiences, is time away.  This intentional Christian community develops skills to help people, young and seasoned, determine what matters most and how to live into what matters most.  Those skills will develop over time as they continue to practice and participate in the journey of faith.  Church camp can be a mountain top experience, but its best work is the subtle and nuanced preparation for living through the valleys of life.  This preparation happens in small group conversations, games, hanging out during free time, in prayer, craft time and worship.

You can follow summer camp this year through the Region’s social media (Twitter @ccokdoc, Facebook – Oklahoma Disciples, and Instagram ccokdoc) as well as here at the Region’s website.  We may have a podcast episode or two as well.

Thank you for supporting Outdoor ministry (Church Camp) in your congregation and in covenant with the Christian Church in Oklahoma.

A mass noun is one that doesn’t take an S when we have more. “Butter” and “Information” are both uncountable in use, because when we only have only one unit of butter (or information) we use the same word as if we have four or six units. Butter is butter.

Uncountable words are understandably difficult to measure at a glance. They don’t fit easily into the industrial mindset, and we’re often pushed to find things that are less mysterious.

But it turns out that uncountable words like trust, honesty, commitment, passion, connection and quality are a fine thing to focus on.

(Seth Godin, “Uncountable.” April 29, 2021)

Community. Belief. Faith.  Are these uncountable as well?  I think so.

Our summer camp program offers children, youth, and adults the  space to encounter the uncountable.  We do that by blending play, prayer, study, service, and worship every day.

This summer we are putting the “outdoor” back in summer camp.  This will help us hear creation speak and mitigate the possible spread of the coronavirus. Campers and adults will explore some of the stories below this summer at camp.

Summer Camp could not happen without the adults that volunteer their time, life experience and faith experience.  In July, we will offer a proper thank you to all the volunteers.

The Holy One is uncountable, but we trust is encountered when we focus on following the way of Jesus.

Community. Belief. Faith.