I've spent my life living behind some pretty wide shadows. Not physically wide, of course, my brother can play hide and seek with a 2x4. But, you know what I mean. In two weeks, these shadows come together in what I alternately refer to as the perfect day and the perfect storm, depending on the kind of day I'm having.
The Bryan family is gearing up for our first family reunion in years. And, like all family events, the reunion begins at church. On August 10th, I will be guest preaching at Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia, MO. Not only will this be the largest congregation to which I preach, but included in this congregation will be Bishop Monk Bryan, Rev. Jim Bryan, and Rev. Andy Bryan. And, since the Bishop Bryan will be in attendance, there's a good chance that the Bishop Schnase will be there.
This is clearly the biggest preaching day of my career. And while my sermon has been written for quite awhile, this is the most nervous I have ever been before any particular proclamation.
Let us dwell in the shadows for just a moment.
It is difficult enough to be a younger child. By virtue of age alone, your older siblings get things done before you. They graduate sooner, get jobs sooner, have children sooner. But, my brother Andy is no ordinary older sibling. An honor student, actually a rediculous honor student that worked hard and loved school. A proficeint musician. A "well-behaved" kid. Just about everything a parent could want in a child. And, a hero. One of the most profound moments of my life is seeing my brother cry after returning from a vacation and learning that his dog, Jackie, had died in the kennel while we were gone. Seeing my Superman break down tore me down. But what I was too young to know then was that my brother, instead of proving himself not a man, was redefining for me what it is to be a man. I actually wrote an essay for english about it called "Does Superman have super-emotions, too?" Sometimes, I can resent my brother. The pride in our parents' face, and specifically Daddy Monk's (that's the Bishop, our grandfather) presence at his ordination service. The collection of communion plates and chalices that mostly come from Grandfather's collection. The fact that Daddy Monk wants Andy to have his old piano even though he already has one. But, always, I love my brother. I am proud to be his brother. And I want him to be proud of me. And, there he'll be on Sunday morning, hearing the word from me.
Then there's Dad. Everything I know about being a man, being a pastor, being a husband (in 300 days), comes from him. Dad is a well-known, well-liked, well-respected elder in the Missouri Conference. A delegate to General and Jurisdictional conference numerous times. Exceptionally successful for a pastor. I live to make him proud. And I'll be preaching from his pulpit in two weeks.
I don't really need to go very deep into explaining why having Monk Bryan for a grandfather can be hard. I'm preaching at his old church, where he is the pastor emeritus. He's been going to Annual Conferences for 90 years, he was bishop of Nebraska. He is HUGE in the United Methodist Church.
So, yeah, little Brad has had a lot of shadows to deal with. I dream of the day that I can introduce myself at Annual Conference as Brad Bryan. Not Andy's brother, or Jim's son. I can't wait to have an interview with the Board of Ordained Ministry (the folks that kind of hold my career in the palms of their hands) that doesn't start with "I knew your Grandfather".
But as I get older, the shadows that seemed to hide me, the one big giant carrot held out before me that it seemed I would never reach, have become the trusses that hold me up, my bulwark never failing. I am not my brother, nor my dad. Although I have learned from them, I am a very different person. And I know that no one expects me to be anybody but myself, but the shadows of legacy will always be there.
Our family has been blessed to be able to be involved in God's work for generations, but I, just like my father, will tell my children that under no circumstances should they become pastors.
I am proud of my family, I am proud to be a part of it. But, I want people to respect me, my gifts, and my call. In two weeks, at my father's current church, my grandfather's former church, with my brother doing music and my grandfather baptizing my sister's son, Braeden, I hope that I can show them, but mainly myself, that I can stand on my own two feet.
Monk, Cornielle, Glenn and Carmen's grandson, Jim and Caryl's baby boy, Andy and Stephanie's little brother, Cori, Wes and Braeden's uncle and Fiona's dad, Bradley James Bryan.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
New Features
Hey guys,
I know its nothing drastic or anything but I've made a few changes to the ol' blog. First, I feel I've lightened up a bit since I started the Bustle, so I'm lightening the color. What do you think?
Also, I have finally put up links to some other blogs. If your name is not Adam and you'd like a link here, just let me know. And finally, I've started the poll of the week feature. I love reading comments. But what's the one negative thing about reading comments? Reading, right. So, each week I'll ask a different question and poll all you wonderful people and then explain why your wrong! For a while, it will be different variations of "Who's the Greatest?" This week, guitar players.
Hope you like it.
BB
I know its nothing drastic or anything but I've made a few changes to the ol' blog. First, I feel I've lightened up a bit since I started the Bustle, so I'm lightening the color. What do you think?
Also, I have finally put up links to some other blogs. If your name is not Adam and you'd like a link here, just let me know. And finally, I've started the poll of the week feature. I love reading comments. But what's the one negative thing about reading comments? Reading, right. So, each week I'll ask a different question and poll all you wonderful people and then explain why your wrong! For a while, it will be different variations of "Who's the Greatest?" This week, guitar players.
Hope you like it.
BB
Friday, July 25, 2008
Curse Words
Alright Mom, I love you, but let's do this.
I curse. I curse around my friends. I curse around my colleagues. And I curse in ranting blogs when my acceptance of the stupidity of our humanity reaches a boiling point.
I don't curse around you, kids, my parishoners and my professional/educational superiors.
There's a button inside that automatically switches off the bad words when certain people are around. So, yes, America, I use curse words. Just like most EVERYONE else. Oh, and any youth group kids that know I have a blog, they curse when we're not around too.
I'm not afraid of people in my churches knowing that I sometimes use these words, I think the percentage of people whose opinion and respect for me as pastor would go down is quite small. But where I agree with my beautiful, wonderful, loving mother and her incessant "mom" comment after a particular lar (long, angry rant) is professionally.
I learned at this Annual Conference that a lot of people read my blog. A lot of people in the ministry life will come over through the link on my big bro's blog. And I've heard the argument that you should treat your online persona-blogs, facebook pages, etc.-as a constant resume and job application.
Well, if Bishop Schnase or any members of the cabinet spend 5 minutes of their day reading my personal, ranting, insignificant thoughts on this hard-to-find, purposely-misspelled drop in the ocean of the blogosphere, then welcome. This is who I am. Sometimes I use extreme language when my feelings on a certain subject are extreme. AND if they do stop by and see the occasional curse word or insult thrown Bill O'Reilly's way and it has a negative effect on my career, then...well...I don't want to be something I'm not to get a job. (hmm, that sounds like another l.a.r. directed at the UMC, making people be something they aren't so they serve in ministry!)
So yeah, I curse. Not in conversation. Not for no reason. I curse when I'm mad, frustrated or in pain. Like a human. And when people are being stupid, petty, greedy and selfish my language can get judgemental. Like a human.
Mother, I love you so very much. I live to make you proud. And I never want you to stop "mothering" me about my taxes and language and eating habits. But, maybe if you could stop doing it on the comments page for all my friends to read!!
Human...being,
Brad
I curse. I curse around my friends. I curse around my colleagues. And I curse in ranting blogs when my acceptance of the stupidity of our humanity reaches a boiling point.
I don't curse around you, kids, my parishoners and my professional/educational superiors.
There's a button inside that automatically switches off the bad words when certain people are around. So, yes, America, I use curse words. Just like most EVERYONE else. Oh, and any youth group kids that know I have a blog, they curse when we're not around too.
I'm not afraid of people in my churches knowing that I sometimes use these words, I think the percentage of people whose opinion and respect for me as pastor would go down is quite small. But where I agree with my beautiful, wonderful, loving mother and her incessant "mom" comment after a particular lar (long, angry rant) is professionally.
I learned at this Annual Conference that a lot of people read my blog. A lot of people in the ministry life will come over through the link on my big bro's blog. And I've heard the argument that you should treat your online persona-blogs, facebook pages, etc.-as a constant resume and job application.
Well, if Bishop Schnase or any members of the cabinet spend 5 minutes of their day reading my personal, ranting, insignificant thoughts on this hard-to-find, purposely-misspelled drop in the ocean of the blogosphere, then welcome. This is who I am. Sometimes I use extreme language when my feelings on a certain subject are extreme. AND if they do stop by and see the occasional curse word or insult thrown Bill O'Reilly's way and it has a negative effect on my career, then...well...I don't want to be something I'm not to get a job. (hmm, that sounds like another l.a.r. directed at the UMC, making people be something they aren't so they serve in ministry!)
So yeah, I curse. Not in conversation. Not for no reason. I curse when I'm mad, frustrated or in pain. Like a human. And when people are being stupid, petty, greedy and selfish my language can get judgemental. Like a human.
Mother, I love you so very much. I live to make you proud. And I never want you to stop "mothering" me about my taxes and language and eating habits. But, maybe if you could stop doing it on the comments page for all my friends to read!!
Human...being,
Brad
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Are You Ready for Some...Whiny, Spoiled, Overpayed, Greedy, Selfish Grown Men Acting Like Babies
Well, football fans, its that time of year once again. Our favorite teams are going back to work, getting ready to bring us quality football for another season. And then there's Devon Hestor, Chad Johnson, Plaxico Burress and other NFL players who are refusing to show up for team practices until they get more money in their contract.
In what fantasy world does this work. How do they not just get fired? This isn't a union, by the way, they aren't striking. They are unhappy with the contract THEY SIGNED and are holding out for more money. Any other job in the world, the boss would say, "alright, see ya, good luck."
These grown men, these professional athletes who get paid for playing a game better than the rest of us, just are satisfied with the millions of dollars they recieve for running fast and catching balls. They want more millions. They are greedy, selfish a-holes. Excuse me.
Hey, NFL contract hold-outs, you look rediculous. You're acting like babies. Shut the frack up and play football.
What if our doctors wouldn't operate until they got more money? And, on the other side of that same coin, they are so many more deserving people who SHOULD not go to work until they get more money: teachers, police and firefighters, soldiers, the men and women who build our roads, maintain our bridges.
These men aren't just playing their fiddles while the world is burning, they want gold-plated strings.
So, you whiny little brats, shut your mouths, take your millions, thank your gift horses, go to practice and PLAY!
I love football,
BB
In what fantasy world does this work. How do they not just get fired? This isn't a union, by the way, they aren't striking. They are unhappy with the contract THEY SIGNED and are holding out for more money. Any other job in the world, the boss would say, "alright, see ya, good luck."
These grown men, these professional athletes who get paid for playing a game better than the rest of us, just are satisfied with the millions of dollars they recieve for running fast and catching balls. They want more millions. They are greedy, selfish a-holes. Excuse me.
Hey, NFL contract hold-outs, you look rediculous. You're acting like babies. Shut the frack up and play football.
What if our doctors wouldn't operate until they got more money? And, on the other side of that same coin, they are so many more deserving people who SHOULD not go to work until they get more money: teachers, police and firefighters, soldiers, the men and women who build our roads, maintain our bridges.
These men aren't just playing their fiddles while the world is burning, they want gold-plated strings.
So, you whiny little brats, shut your mouths, take your millions, thank your gift horses, go to practice and PLAY!
I love football,
BB
Monday, July 21, 2008
Camp Jo-Ota 2008/Batman Review
The extreme lameness of this post title is due to the myriad of possible titles floating through my head: "There's Still Mud in My Ears", "I Wanna Be like Mike", "Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned from a 12-yr-old named Kody", "The Most Exhausting Week of My Life", "B-Rad Jeezy", "Best Batman? Try Best Superhero Movie Ever", "Yeah, That's Right. Batman has Sonar Now". All equally potential titles.
So, first for camp. Thanks to Abby for asking me to be a counselor; it was a great week. Here's some highlights. Crazy Kickball/Mudpit night was thursday. First base: a bucket of water to dunk your head in. Second: a tarp full of cooked spaghetti, baked beans, chocolate and vanilla pudding with a mandatory slide rule. Third: A kiddie pool full of shaving cream. And home: the classic slip and slide. Awesome stuff. Still waiting for the sliding into home picture of me from Abby! Then we went to play around in the giant mud pit, tried to play some actual games but the communication skills of Sarge were, shall we say, lacking a bit, so we just had a free-for-all. The sight of our not-too-small everyjobman Donnie running at me through the mud is the scariest thing I've ever seen.
And then there was Mike. The 20-yr-old male model counselor whose only job was to make us chubby musically talented, movie geek counselors feel bad about themselves. Adam Fears and I gave him a pretty hard time all week, but it is out of pure jealousy. BUT THEN, when I said I could look like that by next summer Mike said, and I quote, "That's impossible." I request, Abby, that you have me back next year just to prove him wrong!
The conversations that 12 year old boys have late at night or in cabin time are simply astounding. We had politics, McCain vs. Obama, the true cause of the war in Iraq, how many of them had officially "made-out". But, especially enlightening was Kody. Ah, Kody. Kody is an expert on the origins of things like hotdogs (stolen from a guy in Italy and sold in front of Yankee stadium), an aspiring entomologist (the pegasus beetle has a horn like a unicorn) and a fishing pro (if you curve your hand into the water to mimic a feeding frenzy, the fish will come flocking). Thank you, Kody.
I'm still tired. I'm still sore from wrestling and throwing kids in the pool (sometimes six at a time) But it really was a wonderful week.
And now, to the main event. The Dark Knight. I'm going to talk about everything here, so if you care, read it after you've seen it. This is not only the best Batman ever, it is the best superhero movie ever made. Its dark, its powerful and its entertaining. Some reasons its the best ever? Sure. Batman's tougher than ever. He gets a new suit so he can turn his head and actually fight without the awkward turn-with-your-whole-upper-body moves of past Batman. He has freakin' sonar vision in his suit...redunkulous.
And then there's the Joker. The creepiest villian since lector and the best villian since Darth Vader. In one opening scene he says, "how 'bout a magic trick?" He sticks a pencil into the table and says he's going to make it disappear. When a thug comes up and tries to front on 'im, the Joker takes the guys neck and throws his head into the table, effectively making the pencil disappear into the guys face! Holy crap! The way he licks his lips, that voice, the way we never really know the real way he got those scars. Ew, creepy.
Other reasons: the damsel in distress gets blown to pieces, the final main fight is between Batman and the swat team not the Joker. And the questions! Can we be good in an evil world? Did Batman inspire good or inspire madness? Do we die a hero or live long enough to see ourselves become the villian? If given an impossible choice, what would we do? Does a hero have to play by the villian's rules to ever be victorious? Unbelievable. Batman, Joker, Two-Face, Rachael, Alfred, Comissioner Gordon, everyone was brilliant. Clearly, Heath should get the Oscar. His voice, his lip-licking tic, his eyes. Greatest bad guy performance in any movie...ever!
I've seen it twice already and it only gets better.
Well, there's an update from the summer of Brad. Coming up: family reunion, Lindsey's b-day, Jack Johnson.
Peace, B
So, first for camp. Thanks to Abby for asking me to be a counselor; it was a great week. Here's some highlights. Crazy Kickball/Mudpit night was thursday. First base: a bucket of water to dunk your head in. Second: a tarp full of cooked spaghetti, baked beans, chocolate and vanilla pudding with a mandatory slide rule. Third: A kiddie pool full of shaving cream. And home: the classic slip and slide. Awesome stuff. Still waiting for the sliding into home picture of me from Abby! Then we went to play around in the giant mud pit, tried to play some actual games but the communication skills of Sarge were, shall we say, lacking a bit, so we just had a free-for-all. The sight of our not-too-small everyjobman Donnie running at me through the mud is the scariest thing I've ever seen.
And then there was Mike. The 20-yr-old male model counselor whose only job was to make us chubby musically talented, movie geek counselors feel bad about themselves. Adam Fears and I gave him a pretty hard time all week, but it is out of pure jealousy. BUT THEN, when I said I could look like that by next summer Mike said, and I quote, "That's impossible." I request, Abby, that you have me back next year just to prove him wrong!
The conversations that 12 year old boys have late at night or in cabin time are simply astounding. We had politics, McCain vs. Obama, the true cause of the war in Iraq, how many of them had officially "made-out". But, especially enlightening was Kody. Ah, Kody. Kody is an expert on the origins of things like hotdogs (stolen from a guy in Italy and sold in front of Yankee stadium), an aspiring entomologist (the pegasus beetle has a horn like a unicorn) and a fishing pro (if you curve your hand into the water to mimic a feeding frenzy, the fish will come flocking). Thank you, Kody.
I'm still tired. I'm still sore from wrestling and throwing kids in the pool (sometimes six at a time) But it really was a wonderful week.
And now, to the main event. The Dark Knight. I'm going to talk about everything here, so if you care, read it after you've seen it. This is not only the best Batman ever, it is the best superhero movie ever made. Its dark, its powerful and its entertaining. Some reasons its the best ever? Sure. Batman's tougher than ever. He gets a new suit so he can turn his head and actually fight without the awkward turn-with-your-whole-upper-body moves of past Batman. He has freakin' sonar vision in his suit...redunkulous.
And then there's the Joker. The creepiest villian since lector and the best villian since Darth Vader. In one opening scene he says, "how 'bout a magic trick?" He sticks a pencil into the table and says he's going to make it disappear. When a thug comes up and tries to front on 'im, the Joker takes the guys neck and throws his head into the table, effectively making the pencil disappear into the guys face! Holy crap! The way he licks his lips, that voice, the way we never really know the real way he got those scars. Ew, creepy.
Other reasons: the damsel in distress gets blown to pieces, the final main fight is between Batman and the swat team not the Joker. And the questions! Can we be good in an evil world? Did Batman inspire good or inspire madness? Do we die a hero or live long enough to see ourselves become the villian? If given an impossible choice, what would we do? Does a hero have to play by the villian's rules to ever be victorious? Unbelievable. Batman, Joker, Two-Face, Rachael, Alfred, Comissioner Gordon, everyone was brilliant. Clearly, Heath should get the Oscar. His voice, his lip-licking tic, his eyes. Greatest bad guy performance in any movie...ever!
I've seen it twice already and it only gets better.
Well, there's an update from the summer of Brad. Coming up: family reunion, Lindsey's b-day, Jack Johnson.
Peace, B
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Come To My Window
Dear Melissa Etheridge,
I must begin by saying that I'm not really fan. It's no big deal; your stuff just isn't my stuff. But your obviously a brilliant song writer and seem like a great person. I want to talk to you about something you said in your Rolling Stone interview last month. I want to talk about it because in one sentence you rejected and affirmed everything I'm trying to do with my life. And I quote, "Religion is an oppresive form of crowd control, but what I understand now is the idea that we are all one, that we come from this one higher consciousness and that we are here to create the kingdom of heaven on Earth." You can probably guess what I'm going to say: I agree with the latter and reject the former.
Ms. Etheridge, I am an United Methodist pastor, a representative of religion, and I must apologize for the ways religion has been used in the past. Religion, as I understand it, is simply the search for a connection between humankind and the rest of creation to the divine. So, whatever, however, wherever, one connects to the divine, that's religion. And, again in my understanding, creating the kingdom of heaven on Earth is exactly what religion should be doing.
Your faithful friend,
Brad Bryan
I'm tired, my friends. Tired of the way secular society sees us. Tired of how Christians are portrayed in the media, tired of how Christians portray themselves on the street. This Melissa Etheride thing is really only the last straw. I first watched an episode of 30 Days that housed an Evangelical, anti-gay rights mother with a gay couple that had two adopted kids. While the gay couple seemed intelligent, open-minded and compassionate, the "good Christian woman" who wouldn't be moved or changed in any way seemed like an ignorant, hate-filled bigot. Since then, I've been watching the tv shows for portrayals of Christians and Christianity. We have Robertson of the 700 Club, we have John Hagee who says "God caused the Holocaust" (WHAT?!), Obama's former pastor with "God Damn America" from the pulpit. Last night on Nightline they interviewed a faith healer. A faith healer! What century is this? I'm not going to put a limit on how God works, or through whom, but as I listened to this man scream at me, scream, that Jesus wants me, I thought "this guy?"
Message to the secular world, those people who happen not to go to church, NOT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CRAZY! Not all of us are hateful, ignorant, arrogant, spoiled brats. Yes, about half of us are against civil rights for homosexual people. But, that means half of us are for them! And even those people that I know who hold opposite positions than I on the subject, they don't object from a place of hate, they aren't hateful, bad people. Misguided and a little naive maybe, but not hateful.
In fact, Ms. Etheridge and the rest of you with a negative opinion of Christians, most of us are quite normal; intelligent, free-thinking, hard-working, fun-loving normal people. Like everyone else, we are trying to find our way in this world and through this live and we just happen to find meaning and purpose, love, hope and peace in the life and teaching of Jesus. I am sorry for the hateful and hurtful words and behaviors of some of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I am sorry for how we have represented our tradition. I am sorry for people like Robertson, Falwell and Hagee who say things that are, frankly, just stupid.
And to all my normal Christian friends out there, stand up and be counted. People are laughing at us. The people we are supposed to be reaching. Stand up! Anyone who doesn't have all the answers, stand up. Anyone who's just trying to figure out why we're here, stand up. Anyone who knows that reading Harry Potter does not, in fact, turn children into witches and wizards, stand up.
It is time, brothers and sisters, to take Christianity back from the crazy people.
Love, peace, rock n' roll, Brad
I must begin by saying that I'm not really fan. It's no big deal; your stuff just isn't my stuff. But your obviously a brilliant song writer and seem like a great person. I want to talk to you about something you said in your Rolling Stone interview last month. I want to talk about it because in one sentence you rejected and affirmed everything I'm trying to do with my life. And I quote, "Religion is an oppresive form of crowd control, but what I understand now is the idea that we are all one, that we come from this one higher consciousness and that we are here to create the kingdom of heaven on Earth." You can probably guess what I'm going to say: I agree with the latter and reject the former.
Ms. Etheridge, I am an United Methodist pastor, a representative of religion, and I must apologize for the ways religion has been used in the past. Religion, as I understand it, is simply the search for a connection between humankind and the rest of creation to the divine. So, whatever, however, wherever, one connects to the divine, that's religion. And, again in my understanding, creating the kingdom of heaven on Earth is exactly what religion should be doing.
Your faithful friend,
Brad Bryan
I'm tired, my friends. Tired of the way secular society sees us. Tired of how Christians are portrayed in the media, tired of how Christians portray themselves on the street. This Melissa Etheride thing is really only the last straw. I first watched an episode of 30 Days that housed an Evangelical, anti-gay rights mother with a gay couple that had two adopted kids. While the gay couple seemed intelligent, open-minded and compassionate, the "good Christian woman" who wouldn't be moved or changed in any way seemed like an ignorant, hate-filled bigot. Since then, I've been watching the tv shows for portrayals of Christians and Christianity. We have Robertson of the 700 Club, we have John Hagee who says "God caused the Holocaust" (WHAT?!), Obama's former pastor with "God Damn America" from the pulpit. Last night on Nightline they interviewed a faith healer. A faith healer! What century is this? I'm not going to put a limit on how God works, or through whom, but as I listened to this man scream at me, scream, that Jesus wants me, I thought "this guy?"
Message to the secular world, those people who happen not to go to church, NOT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CRAZY! Not all of us are hateful, ignorant, arrogant, spoiled brats. Yes, about half of us are against civil rights for homosexual people. But, that means half of us are for them! And even those people that I know who hold opposite positions than I on the subject, they don't object from a place of hate, they aren't hateful, bad people. Misguided and a little naive maybe, but not hateful.
In fact, Ms. Etheridge and the rest of you with a negative opinion of Christians, most of us are quite normal; intelligent, free-thinking, hard-working, fun-loving normal people. Like everyone else, we are trying to find our way in this world and through this live and we just happen to find meaning and purpose, love, hope and peace in the life and teaching of Jesus. I am sorry for the hateful and hurtful words and behaviors of some of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I am sorry for how we have represented our tradition. I am sorry for people like Robertson, Falwell and Hagee who say things that are, frankly, just stupid.
And to all my normal Christian friends out there, stand up and be counted. People are laughing at us. The people we are supposed to be reaching. Stand up! Anyone who doesn't have all the answers, stand up. Anyone who's just trying to figure out why we're here, stand up. Anyone who knows that reading Harry Potter does not, in fact, turn children into witches and wizards, stand up.
It is time, brothers and sisters, to take Christianity back from the crazy people.
Love, peace, rock n' roll, Brad
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Annual Conference 2008
So, I've spent a full month reflecting on the 2008 session of the Missouri Annual Conference. The following few paragraphs are quite simply those reflections poured out into the blogosphere.
I first want to say a few words about the logistics of Annual Conference. We need to decide if the AC is a business meeting or an educational opportunity. Because attempting to make it both takes away from both. I am of the opinion that the AC should be strictly business and that we should strengthen minister's school which is supposed to be our educational opportunity. I admit that the planners and facilitators of AC have probably the hardest job in the state. But, the Conference should take the responsibility to make Minister's School a stronger and more productive time and stop trying to make AC be Minister's school. (Some of this has to do with not bookending Minister's School with other conference board meetings so that no one cares or has the energy for learning together)
OK, that's it for the logistics. Now for a little deeper reflection.
The question is not, my friends, "And Are We Yet Alive?" The question has become, "What Are We Living For?" Are we living to save the institution and corporation of the United Methodist Church? Or, are we living to serve the mission of God? Um, I'm going to go ahead and not answer that question; just putting it out there. Seriously, what are we, the United Methodist Church, living for?
I also learned that a lot of people read this blog; more people than I thought. Most of those people find me through Andy's blog I'm sure. So, Andy, I'd like this blog to reach some people. Perhaps you can link 'em my way. Thanks for reading, folks. I'm going to try and keep a more regular and meaningful blogging schedule.
I also learned that Matt Miofsky is my new hero. Matt, I was one of those people who was sick of hearing your name, talking about your church at every District and Conference event, seeing your picture in every issue of the Reporter. But then you go and do something like this...and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF. No formulas, no magic secrets, no books. Just community. Just culturally, personally, scripturally, ethically, spiritually relevant worship. But the best, nay the most profound, thing you said and I quote "We're doing fine with the new wineskins, but what is the new wine we are offering?" Fantastic. Amen. So say we all.
Staying with the theme of young adult pastors that I had at one point been tired of hearing about and now have an unmatched respect for: what Emmanuel Cleaver III did with the hip-hop worship service is EXACTLY my vision for a rock and roll worship service. The pillars of hip-hop around which the service is built, the culture to which it speaks, all of that can be done in the rock community. Electric guitars, tatoos, slam-dancing, its all the rock culture and needs to be spoken to by the church.
While I stand with my brother on the overall theme, attitude and success of this year's Annual Conference (the theme of "you guys suck and why can't you do it like this") I am trying to stay more positive, so I want to talk about the best thing of the weekend. If we needed any proof that EVERYTHING we know about church is wrong and EVERYTHING we're doing is on the wrong path, it was the choir of orphans from Uganda that sang and danced for us and shared their overflowing joy. First of all, the choir started BEFORE the actual session started so a lot of people missed it. But as they were singing and dancing and telling their stories, I turned to my brother and said those words, "Everything we're doing is wrong." When's the last time you were joyous in worship? Or joyous anywhere? Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, my brothers and sisters in Christ for opening your souls to us and opening my eyes to my own.
The best and holiest conferencing that happened: in the back, conversing with my friends, Joel Kidwell, Michael Dunlap, Richard Fine, Dennis Harper, EC3, David Hutchison and all the others. Thanks for sharing your time with me.
What are we living for? Are we living for the survival of the institution of the United Methodist Church? Are we growing because if we don't we'll die? Or are we living to simply serve the mission of God in this world, EVEN IF, that mission means the death of the denomination?
What good is a man who won't take a stand, what good is a cynic with no better plan? I believe there's a better way.
Brad
ps; to whom it may concern, can we PLEASE not have some megachurches anonymous boring praise band play our opening worship? And can we PLEASE have more worship? My better plan...uh...ME! I'll play, I'll play, I'll play.
I first want to say a few words about the logistics of Annual Conference. We need to decide if the AC is a business meeting or an educational opportunity. Because attempting to make it both takes away from both. I am of the opinion that the AC should be strictly business and that we should strengthen minister's school which is supposed to be our educational opportunity. I admit that the planners and facilitators of AC have probably the hardest job in the state. But, the Conference should take the responsibility to make Minister's School a stronger and more productive time and stop trying to make AC be Minister's school. (Some of this has to do with not bookending Minister's School with other conference board meetings so that no one cares or has the energy for learning together)
OK, that's it for the logistics. Now for a little deeper reflection.
The question is not, my friends, "And Are We Yet Alive?" The question has become, "What Are We Living For?" Are we living to save the institution and corporation of the United Methodist Church? Or, are we living to serve the mission of God? Um, I'm going to go ahead and not answer that question; just putting it out there. Seriously, what are we, the United Methodist Church, living for?
I also learned that a lot of people read this blog; more people than I thought. Most of those people find me through Andy's blog I'm sure. So, Andy, I'd like this blog to reach some people. Perhaps you can link 'em my way. Thanks for reading, folks. I'm going to try and keep a more regular and meaningful blogging schedule.
I also learned that Matt Miofsky is my new hero. Matt, I was one of those people who was sick of hearing your name, talking about your church at every District and Conference event, seeing your picture in every issue of the Reporter. But then you go and do something like this...and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF. No formulas, no magic secrets, no books. Just community. Just culturally, personally, scripturally, ethically, spiritually relevant worship. But the best, nay the most profound, thing you said and I quote "We're doing fine with the new wineskins, but what is the new wine we are offering?" Fantastic. Amen. So say we all.
Staying with the theme of young adult pastors that I had at one point been tired of hearing about and now have an unmatched respect for: what Emmanuel Cleaver III did with the hip-hop worship service is EXACTLY my vision for a rock and roll worship service. The pillars of hip-hop around which the service is built, the culture to which it speaks, all of that can be done in the rock community. Electric guitars, tatoos, slam-dancing, its all the rock culture and needs to be spoken to by the church.
While I stand with my brother on the overall theme, attitude and success of this year's Annual Conference (the theme of "you guys suck and why can't you do it like this") I am trying to stay more positive, so I want to talk about the best thing of the weekend. If we needed any proof that EVERYTHING we know about church is wrong and EVERYTHING we're doing is on the wrong path, it was the choir of orphans from Uganda that sang and danced for us and shared their overflowing joy. First of all, the choir started BEFORE the actual session started so a lot of people missed it. But as they were singing and dancing and telling their stories, I turned to my brother and said those words, "Everything we're doing is wrong." When's the last time you were joyous in worship? Or joyous anywhere? Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, my brothers and sisters in Christ for opening your souls to us and opening my eyes to my own.
The best and holiest conferencing that happened: in the back, conversing with my friends, Joel Kidwell, Michael Dunlap, Richard Fine, Dennis Harper, EC3, David Hutchison and all the others. Thanks for sharing your time with me.
What are we living for? Are we living for the survival of the institution of the United Methodist Church? Are we growing because if we don't we'll die? Or are we living to simply serve the mission of God in this world, EVEN IF, that mission means the death of the denomination?
What good is a man who won't take a stand, what good is a cynic with no better plan? I believe there's a better way.
Brad
ps; to whom it may concern, can we PLEASE not have some megachurches anonymous boring praise band play our opening worship? And can we PLEASE have more worship? My better plan...uh...ME! I'll play, I'll play, I'll play.
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