Michael Davison Blog

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.

“What Can You Do Once You’re Vaccinated?” (nytimes.com)

Out there, beyond Easter, is a journey through the looking glass.  It’s always been that way, even before Covid-19 restrictions, politics, science, grief, and prayers.  Out there beyond Easter, we have to apply what we’ve learned about ourselves, our communities, communal medical health, citizenship, faith, and following Jesus.

The Regional Youth Council’s Lent devotional suggested that Lent is a daily journey.  And like Lent, those who claim to be an “Easter people” are involved in a daily journey.  We can try to categorize, reference, and program our way into the already, but not yet, empire of God, but the Holy One isn’t easily tamed, named, or claimed.  The divine spark in you knows the whisper of God and what the Holy requires.  There is a lot of noise to silence.  It is a daily journey filled with lows, highs, and the mundane.

Sometimes Christians think of Jesus as a kind of vaccine for the human condition. Traditions and rituals during Christmas and Easter can be a booster shot for a weak spiritual immune system.

In one of my favorite scenes in the movie, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the crowd sings:

Christ, you know I love you
Did you see, I waved
I believe in you and God
So tell me that I’m saved

Jesus, I am with you
Touch me, touch me Jesus
Jesus, I am on your side
Kiss me, kiss me Jesus(1)

How is your spiritual immune system these days?

This summer at camp, we will mix the same ingredients we have for years: play, prayer, study, worship, and service.  Will it be different?  Yes.  It always is a bit different because we are not turning out industrialized, mass-produced Christians.  That’s not the intent.  Physical distance, masks, and the small groups will probably make camp feel different, but “camp will be camp.”  Why?  Because I trust the ingredients. I trust God. I trust the spiritual immune systems of directors, counselors, and the campers who will create the sacred space we call summer camp.

Following Jesus . . . it’s a daily journey.  It is making choices about what I/we/you can do (should do) once vaccinated.

1. Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice, “Simon Zealotes from Jesus Christ Superstar” (1973) Universal Pictures Film Music.

“Count me in.”
That’s the opposite of, “count me out.”

Either you seek to unite and be part of it. Or to divide and watch it go away.

Whatever ‘it’ might be.

We can seek to trigger those we’ve decided are our enemies, undermine the standards and burn it all down. Or we can commit to the possibility that together, we can create something that works.

It’s not that hard to realize that even if we can’t always see the gunwales on the boat, we’re all in the same one.

(Seth Godin, 02/28/21)

How do you begin or end your day?  Some may have a soundtrack.  I do.  Sometimes, it is treadmill tunes pulling me along the 6am walk or jog.  Sometimes, it is the playlist of my favorite bands while I was in high school and college.

At the end of the day, I’m another day older, and it is the sound of the ocean.

During Lent, I’ve traded the morning soundtrack for live and pre-recorded video from the International Space Station Youtube channel. (pictured above). There is a soft piano soundtrack. The view is inspirational and aspirational for me, as I handwrite a card to someone.

Lent is an intentional time of honest self-reflection.  As I wander with disciples and with Jesus toward Jerusalem this year, what has come into focus are the aspirations of christians, of myself, based in the inspiration of Jesus, who most often talked about the empire of God.  Jesus’ teaching about the empire (kindom or kingdom) of God was often followed by “is like.” Christian theology speaks of the “all ready” but “not yet” nature of the empire of God in which baptized believers exist and are supposed to be capable of recognizing.  Christians have a kind of dual citizenship that often puts us at odds with ourselves, our behavior, and competing visions of God’s empire and Jesus’ role.

After twelve months (and counting) of pandemic time, overt political conflict, cancellations, and growing institutional and neighborly distrust where have you, have I, recognized the empire of God that Jesus described?

My lent is filled with wondering what “could” it be like or “would” it be like or “will” it be like when . . .

Leaven [Matt 13:33b, Luke 13:20b-21]

Good Samaritan [Luke 10:30-37]

Dishonest Steward [Luke 16:1-9]

Vineyard Laborers [Matt 20:1-15]

Mustard Seed [Matt 13:31b-32, Mark 4:31-32, Luke 13:19]

I leave the house without a mask in the car.

What motivates you to learn and to grow?
(“The Daily Question”, gratefulness.org. 1/31/21)

Question. Experience. Reflection. Relationship.

There was so much happening. I was trying to take in all the moments.  I spotted my family several rows up from the floor.  Chancellor Tucker was talking about what it means to be a graduate of TCU. This idea, more a paraphrase than direct quote, is all I remember. “You’ve been educated to consult many sources, to weigh the validity of the information from those sources, and to ask quality questions.”

Experience can be a great teacher.  Maybe it is the best teacher. If you want to be the best version or better version of yourself, pay attention to the experiences that help you become the better you. There is an entire market of “stuff,” genre of self-help, and virtual selling of experience.  There are vacations, trips, and camps.  I think we all have an experience that help’s us remember the best version of ourselves when times are hard, tragic, and especially when a moment is nuanced.

Self reflection is necessary.  It is not always easy, but necessary. As a child, youth, and even in early adulthood, I never had a good answer for my parent’s favorite question, “Why did you do that?”  Like many, I often just fell back on, “I don’t know.” even when I did know and didn’t want to admit it.  My mother’s response, “Go to you room and think about what you did and how you will behave differently next time while your dad and I decide the best consequence.”  She meant punishment. Once I reached junior high, I was expected to have an answer for the “why” when I emerged from my room to demonstrate that I had thought about my actions. That is when the dialogue about my actions began as well as dispensing of consequences.  You never get asked, “Why did you do that?” about the good decisions.  Now, why is that.

Stranded alone on a desert island, Chuck (Tom Hanks), opens a box that washed up on the beach. It contains a soccer ball.  Wilson, the brand of ball and name Chuck gives him, becomes his friend.  Wilson helps Chuck cope with the isolation. In a moment of confrontation, Wilson helps Chuck decide to leave the island for the sea and risk death to be found. But, they and may never being found.  Chuck’s wears a pocket watch around his neck. A photo of his fiancé is inside.  A relationship can comfort, challenge, create stress, suffocate, be mutual or one-sided.  Some relationships are good.  Some detrimental. Do you have one or two “good” relationships?  A friend, companion, or community.

When Ash Wednesday arrives later this month (Feb 17th), thus begins a ritual journey that Christianity calls Lent. It can be a time of growth.  First time growth or renewed growth.  Join the Regional Youth Council for questions and reflection about experience and relationship on this ritual journey that disciples take following Jesus to Jerusalem.  The RYC Lent devotional can be downloaded on February 15th here on the Region’s website.

Think back through the last couple of days.  Watch with your mind’s eye.

Rewind the tape all the way back to getting out of bed.

Remember . . .

Your morning routine;
school or work or waiting;
The places you’ve been;
The things you saw;
The people you talked to;
and then;
home, dinner, what you watched or read;
Your evening routine and to bed.

Look back and find that moment when you experienced hope.
Bring that moment to the front of your mind.
Who is there? What does it sound or smell like?
Stay in the moment for a few minutes.

Look back and find that moment when you experienced peace.
Bring that moment to the front of your mind.
Who is there? What does it sound or smell like?
Stay in the moment for a few minutes.

Look back and find that moment when you experienced joy.
Bring that moment to the front of your mind.
Who is there? What does it sound or smell like?
Stay in the moment for a few minutes.

Look back and find that moment when you experienced love.
Bring that moment to the front of your mind.
Who is there? What does it sound or smell like?
Stay in the moment for a few minutes.

Pandemic time has stretched moments into a pace that makes me uncomfortable or out of control.

Pandemic time: moments to grieve, moments to savor, and moments to examen.

This Advent there is anticipation of life as we knew it before.
Is that what Advent is really all about?

Who can say if Advent will change me for the better.
Maybe, it is being changed by the moments for good.

“Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
(A quote from Ferris in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” John Hughes (Paramount Pictures) 1986)

Forward motion is possible if we can extend the sentence to, “That’s not what I meant, but that must be what you heard, how do we fix this? Will you help me make things right again?”

[Seth Godin, “That’s not what I meant.” October 22, 2020]

The question is, “What does ‘right’ mean given the situation?”

Do you remember a specific part of a single day like it happened yesterday?  I don’t remember much about the day my father drove me to TCU for the first time to move into the dorm.  But, I do remember this: after putting the last of my stuff into the backseat I went back into the house to say goodbye to my mother.  My dad was in the kitchen with her.  Mom hugged me and then pushed me back to arms length and looked me in the eyes.  “We’ve raised you to know the difference between right and wrong.  We raised you to think before you act. We know you are going to make mistakes.  We know you are not going to embarrass us.  Go live your life and call us if you think we can help.”  In the car my father said, “Ready to go.”  “Yes sir.” I responded. That was all we said the first 30 minutes of the 90 minute trip to TCU.

The systems that we participate in every day often limit our choices to do what is right because it is right.  Look at the labels in your clothing.  Then do an Internet search about where those clothes are made.  You are going to find out that much of what you are wearing is made in a country where people are paid poorly, by our standards and theirs, and it is possible that child labor was used to make your clothes.  The same is true with the little computers we call smart phones.  But, that is still our responsibility.  I could choose to pay more for something else.

Most often we do what is right because we are afraid of the consequences that will come from breaking the communal rules set out to ensure we balance our individualism with the common good for community.  I prefer guidelines to rules, because guidelines provide the necessary boundaries for community, and rules, well some rules need to be broken.  But, that’s a topic for another day.

Every now and then, the communal rules get questioned.  They are put through a wash and rinse cycle, and new rules emerge based on historical lessons, clearer facts, better data, and lived experience.  The common good for all of us gets redefined to include more of us.  Sometimes that means some of us give up privileges that are real, or simply imagined, because of where we were born or into what circumstance we were born.  The Constitution of these United States begins, “In order to form a more perfect Union” and goes on to detail the actions taken by men seeking a freedom not experienced in another place and time.  These deists, many of them, embodied the moral compass of their time based on their education and their culture. They were doing the best they could with the most current information they had while thinking about the future.  Can the same be said of our citizens today and those that govern?

Followers of Jesus are supposed to be “Greatest Commandment” people.  Aren’t we?  A secular Nation might call us to be “Golden Rule” people beyond our places of worship, which should not be a heavy lift for Christians.  Somewhere along the way, we’ve lost the ability to be shamed to do the right thing (a great Spike Lee movie).  Shame is not the greatest motivator, but Jesus used it at least once, “If you are without sin, cast the first stone.”

Who gets to define what is “right?”  How does my definition exclude you or include you?  This year, more than most, my mother’s voice echoes, “You’ve been taught to know the difference between right and wrong.”  I’ve got so many lessons ahead of me.