Be Something You Love…

Remember the 1994 movie Forrest Gump? Great movie (and great soundtrack!). I love how it turns one simple man’s story into an epic adventure. Call it an uninhibited celebration of ordinary life. If you haven’t seen it, rent it. We can watch it together!

The main character, Forrest, though he grew up with leg braces, is quite the runner. He played football at Alabama University because of his speed. He used his running talent to save people in Vietnam. And one day, near the movie’s end, he bumps into the woman he’s loved since childhood, Jenny (pronounced J-eh-eh-knee). Long story short, she breaks his heart. Simple man that he is, Forrest takes a run. And he runs. And he runs.


And he runs.

All across the country.

And back.

And back again.

And he keeps running.

He doesn’t stop for “three years, two months, fourteen days and sixteen hours.” During that time, he unintentionally inspires a HUGE following. It begins with one guy thinking this running-across-America thing is quite groovy. More join in, and more still; all following Forrest, mile after mile. Until, in the middle of what looks like New Mexico, Forrest stops running. “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now,” he says, as he walks through his followers, parting down the center like the Red Sea. Someone yells, “Now what’re we supposed to do?” Forrest says nothing. He just goes home.

It’s funny what inspires us, amen? I once heard a guy interviewed who grew up loving electronics. For some unknown reason, he decided to learn all about pay phones, eventually figuring out how to make long distance calls on them for free. So he called…the Pope, pretending to be Harry Kissinger. The Pontiff’s personal assistant figured out the ruse after thirty minutes, but the guy wasn’t deterred. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computers, and makes a decent living. All because, randomly, he was inspired by electronics.

Inspiration has made its way into recent sermons and letters; maybe you’ve noticed. It’s been on my mind, and that’s because I think Christian living should be inspired living- living with purpose and mission. What that looks like for each of us isn’t always clear, especially when life goes through changes. But I don’t think we should ever give up searching for that little something that inspires us.

Unlike the runners of Forrest Gump, though, Christian inspiration has a distinct purpose. Jesus described it in Matthew 23:37-40, “Love the LORD your God…and love your neighbor as yourself.” But Jesus isn’t Forrest, running away from the past to put the pain behind him. Jesus leads us toward something- namely, the Reign of God, where unconditional, overwhelming love rule the day every day. As his followers, we run after him toward this glorious Reign, both receiving divine love in fuller measure every step, and sharing it with everyone we pass, inviting them to join in.

Every year, running inspires Plymouth Creekers to follow Jesus and love our neighbors. Walking actually, but close enough. I mean the annual CROP Walk, of course, or what I often call the Plymouth Creek Victory Celebration (since we’re always the top fundraiser!). I’m not exactly sure why CROP Walk, which fights hunger from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth, inspires us so much, but it does. Other things inspire us to pursue God’s Reign too, of course, but the CROP Walk’s worth mentioning because it’s this Sunday, October 11, when, as in years past, we’ll walk/jog/run after our Lord on a mission. If you’re walking, thanks for getting inspired. If you’re not, thanks for your support. Walking may be simple stuff, but that’s how the Reign of God happens- God’s overwhelming love inspires ordinary life. May this walk help you live inspired. In all things,

Grace and Peace,

Shane

PS- If you still want to support our walking, go to the Church World Service Web Site. Click “Find Your Walk”, look for the MN NW Suburbs walk and click donate (or just follow this link). Search for team “Plymouth Creek.” And viola!

PPS- If you have family/friends who might want to help, pass along this letter. Thanks to all! Read more!

Some strange symbolism…

I did it. I’m a lemming. A sheep. And you know what? I don’t care! If I had it to do over, I’d do it sooner. I hope we can still be friends. But I thought you should know- I read Dan Brown’s new novel.

Maybe, just maybe you don’t know what I’m talking about. Perhaps one or two of you haven’t heard that Dan Brown, (in)famous author of the 2003 smash hit novel The Da Vinci Code, has FINALLY published another book. I was in seminary when Da Vinci came out, and the blowback was stupendous. Multiple professors spent entire class periods giving unannounced lectures on the theological and historical inaccuracies of the novel (my seminary took itself a bit too seriously, at times). Across the nation, both theological liberals and conservatives joined forces in condemning this “appalling work of absolute fiction”, albeit for different reasons. All this attention did exactly what the publisher hoped for: I got interested enough to read it.

I’m glad I did. It was a fun book. Not very careful about church history, but entertaining. A buddy of mine, after I finished Da Vinci, lent me two of Brown’s earlier novels, and I devoured those as well. So when I heard recently that another Dan Brown adventure, titled The Lost Symbol, was out, I got it, and within a week my Dan Brown fix was fixed.

The book, you should know, doesn’t have those mind-blowing speculations about Christianity that made The Da Vinci Code controversial. But there’s stuff that will get folk a bit heated, which is partly why I like these stories. They get folk thinking about religion. Being a pastor, that makes me happy. Surprise, surprise. Also, they encourage folk to think about religion in atypical ways. I like that too, despite my hesitations with Dan Brown’s theology. My reason for that is I think we often struggle to keep our thinking about God and religion from turning stale. That goes for both churchgoers and the church averse. With all that’s going on in our lives, it’s easy to get afflicted with the “I believe what I believe and that’s all there is to it” syndrome. People stop searching for fresh insight. Curiosity about God diminishes. Wonder and mystery lose their fascination. So I love it when something pops up that sparks new thinking about God. It could be a book, movie, an archeological find; it might challenge, or reinforce, fundamental beliefs. Whatever the case, when folk start re-exploring religious stuff, I believe that opens space for the Spirit to enter in and get to work.

Which relates, interestingly, to the book’s title, The Lost Symbol. Religion and symbols go together. But there’s a difference with the symbols in a puzzle (Brown’s specialty) and those used in religious worship. To the religious, a ‘symbol’ is more than a metaphor, more than a picture that represents something else. A religious ‘symbol’ takes a faithful person beyond herself into the presence of something greater. Religious symbols invite folk to interact with, and not just look at, that which is symbolized. So when I call Jesus, “King,” I mean more than, “Jesus is like royalty.” That symbol invites me to recognize and accept Jesus’ lordship over life. When I call God “Mother” or “Father,” I’m more than describing God. I’m acknowledging the very real relationship I can have with my Divine Parent. And remember, God is so great, no one symbol says everything there is to say. So it’s important we use multiple symbols to speak of God. We don’t want to worship an idea of God, or one symbol, in God’s place. Still, what’s cool is when we seek to speak more creatively about God, God’s Spirit shows up.

Regardless, Dan Brown books are fun adventures. If you plan to read it, I got a copy you can borrow. We can chat about it after, explore the symbols and plot twists together. If you don’t read it, I pray you’re finding something else to nurture your wonder about the God we serve. And that we all discover new symbols to describe our limitless Lord. In all things,


Grace and Peace,

Shane Read more!

Your Ministry…

It’s not every day you see a minister being held upside down while drinking directly from a keg. In fact, I’ve only seen it once myself, but it made a strong impression.

It happened one night during college (of course), and just so there’s no confusion, understand that the keg in question was full of root beer. The college church group I attended threw a “Root Beer Keg Party,” and like other keg parties on campus, spirits and energy levels were high. We danced, told jokes, and at one point in the evening, held our minister, Mark, aloft while counting how many seconds he could drink root beer continuously. Poor Mark. All he wanted was to talk with us about Jesus’ love, and that’s the goofy stuff we put him through. He’ll get to skip up a few places in the line for Heaven, I believe. But strange as it sounds, that night’s events taught me important stuff.

True confession- The Root Beer Keg Party was my idea. I was on the college ministry’s Leadership Team, and had half-jokingly suggested this, as a way to engage our context with a bit of humor. Mark, rather than shoot me down, said, “Let’s explore the idea.” And then he put me in charge of making it happen. This taught me two important rules: 1) Always encourage people to do ministry they feel passionate about (and not just what you’re comfortable with), and 2) The Good News of Jesus Christ can speak in more ways than any of us can imagine. I’m glad Mark taught these lessons. Church would be much duller if every act of ministry was a recycling of earlier ideas. And I doubt it would reach people. Sure, the Kingdom won’t come because a church serves locally brewed root beer. But it didn’t hurt, and maybe even did some good.

That story reminds me of my favorite parts of Sunday morning at Plymouth Creek. Two things pop out. One, the list of worship participants is loooong. Indeed, it’s longer than most churches of a comparable size. Second, number one on that list is always the same, “All Members…Ministers.” Two different things, but a similar point- Plymouth Creek supports shared ministry. Whether it’s how we self-describe, or the many folk who put in time every Sunday, our church hopes that everyone shares the church’s work, and that no one member (or staff person) feel overly responsible for the ministry we do. Everyone is a minister at Plymouth Creek. Everyone can serve, in her or his own way, at the table.

And that means that everyone must be open to activities that seem atypical, or that even feel uncomfortable.

I led a workshop the other week about the many different forms of ministry during Christian History. Some folk, of course, preached and taught. Some were bishops or regional leaders who held oversight responsibility for numerous Christian communities. Most Christians, though, ministered through service. They served meals during worship, or to a sick neighbor. They served the community member who’d recently had a child, or whose spouse passed away. Because time passed, and needs changed as people changed, folk translated Jesus’ Good News into new cultural contexts. And the ministry Christians performed changed one generation to the next. Still, what remained was service- i.e. compassion for one’s neighbor- and so Christian ministry continued.

So I’ve wondered since that workshop, “What are the unique ministries of service our church members perform?” Or maybe the question is better put- What’s your ministry? After all, all Plymouth Creekers are ministers. Some recently organized a game night. Others inspired a CROP Walk. Some painted. Others brought ‘seniors’ together for lunch. A couple folded this newsletter. The list goes on, but it’s never complete. There are more needs in our community than one person or church could meet, and that means we must open our eyes, hearts and hands in service. Maybe root beer doesn’t excite you, but gardening or scrapbooking does. Or something. Whatever it is, let me know, however unique. I’m anxious to serve more and more with you. Plymouth, and the world, needs it. In all things,

Grace and Peace,
Shane Read more!

That’s some great communion…

Surveys, books, and personal experience all point to something that seems relatively universal these days: many Christians no longer care about denominations. Why that is is a topic for another letter, but I suspect that’s not terribly shocking to read.

For worshippers in this denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), this might be taken as good news. Indeed, we began as an anti-denominational movement in the early 1800’s, and grew faster than any other American Christian tradition through the remainder of that century. Our distinctive, and liberating, message was simple: No Creed but Christ, No Book but the Bible. This slogan reflects the basic principle of our movement- Unity. To this day, we understand our church as a “movement for wholeness in a fragmented world,” something that happens most fully and frequently for us at the Lord’s Table every week during communion.


The irony, of course, is that in the two hundred years of the Stone-Campbell Movement’s existence (so named after our most influential founders), we’ve splintered twice. The first came in the aftermath of the Civil War, when the “Christians” broke with the “Churches of Christ.” The second splinter occurred more slowly, though it began when the “Christian Churches- Independent” first emerged as a distinct group in the first decade of the 20th Century. Our two fellowships grew further apart in subsequent decades until, in 1967, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) intentionally covenanted to become an ‘denomination’ (previously, we were a movement of autonomous, but related churches). Because of that decision, some 700,000 Christians in thousands of churches did not follow.

Sad as these divisions may be, nevertheless all three branches in the Stone-Campbell family still profess an abiding commitment to Christian Unity. We take our cue from Jesus’ great prayer at the end of John’s Gospel, 17:20-21, “I ask...on behalf of those who will believe in me…that they may all be one…so that the world will believe that you have sent me.” In fact, you may know this is why I joined the Disciples. As a teenager, people would ask, “What is your religion?” I always responded, “I’m Christian.” “Yeah, but what kind of Christian?” And I would answer, “Christian is enough for me.” I still believe that, as deeply as I love my particular family of faith. So when it came time for ordination, I learned about these weird folk named “Disciples”, who were a denomination that thought denominations were less important than Unity. I said, “That’s exactly the place for me.”

I share all this because on October 4th,folk from all three branches of the Stone-Campbell Movement from around the country are getting together to declare to one another and the world that Unity is still our Polar Star. We will do this, here in Minnesota, at Valley Christian Church in Lakeville at 4 PM, and I’m helping with the service. The occasion for getting together is the 200th Anniversary of our Movement’s founding moment, when Thomas Campbell signed his groundbreaking Declaration and Address, something I wrote about a couple weeks back. There will be preachers and worship leaders from representatives of all three branches at the service, which will culminate in our celebrating Communion. In fact, the nation-wide commemoration is called The Great Communion.

This excites me. Our three entities still disagree over much, and it’s not likely we’ll merge anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean we’re not one already. All Christian Unity rests on the fact that Jesus invited us first. It is Jesus’ love, sacrifice and grace that makes us One, regardless of the fact we can’t embody that fully in this broken world. So I hope you join me. It shouldn’t be too long of a service. We may even learn something! At the very least, we’ll get to spend time with Christians we don’t often meet with, which is, to my mind, always a blessing. After all, whatever the denomination or title, Christian is still Christian, and that means a lover and friend of Jesus, who we claim is Lord. Call it suppertime with a friend of a Friend. I’ve heard the menu is live-changing. In all things,


Grace and Peace,

Shane Read more!

A Fair Cup o’ Joe

For me, it began in seminary. My parents had switched churches, and one Sunday night Mom calls me. “Shane, check your mailbox for a package this week.” Ummm, okay Mom, what’s coming? “Coffee,” she said. Coffee? Sure enough, I received a small box with two gold bags of coffee that week. Turns out Mom and Dad’s new church sold coffee. It wasn’t Folgers, though. These were sustainably produced, high quality beans from small farmers in Rwanda, who sold through churches because otherwise, shipping costs were too high to allow access to foreign markets (where real profits were possible). Before this church connection, apparently, they sold locally for much less, and barely survived. So I thought, “How cool! Support your church and poor farmers, drink good coffee, and pay less than you would at the store.” I’ve been thirsty to try ever since…

So imagine my joy in January (I think…) when Donna Jarvi brought to our Mission Gathering some printouts from the Disciples of Christ website, which described a new “Disciples Coffee Project.” This project is a joint effort between the denomination’s relief and disaster response organization Week of Compassion and the world’s largest for-profit fair trade organization, Equal Exchange. What happens is that individual churches purchase coffee, tea, chocolate and other fair trade goods from Equal Exchange, and either use the goods themselves, or re-sell them to parishioners and guests (or both).

We are now doing the latter! We’ve set up a display near the Office and stocked it with coffee. There’s a collection box where, on the honor system, folk can buy bags for $6 each (similar to Mt. Olivet Lutheran, just down Rockford). Here’s why I think it’s a great deal-

1) This program offers us great products cheaply. We can pass along those savings to ourselves and our guests. The result is you buy bags of fair trade, organically grown coffee at church for cheaper than local coffee shops, or even Cub Foods. I know. I’ve looked!

2) This could become a fundraiser. During certain seasons, we might add an extra buck to each bag’s price, and give that ‘profit’ to the youth, or CROP Walk, or…. Even in that scenario, we get great coffee as cheap as Cub Foods, while helping the church, and saving a trip to the store.

3) For every pound of coffee or other products purchased through this program, Equal Exchange donates to Week of Compassion. WoC has created a “Hunger Relief and Food Security Fund” to administer fair trade donations. Our EE/WoC/DoC partnership began in January 2008, and by year’s end had yielded $2000, while purchasing of fair trade products in DoC churches doubled. Outlook for 2009, I’m told, is superb growth.

4) When you buy coffee that’s fairly traded and organically produced, you’re supporting small farmers in developing countries who care for God’s earth and desperately need our support. Equal Exchange pays farm co-ops directly. So we pay less for quality products, and poor farmers receive more. Justice and self-interest wrapped into one.

There you have it! You may have waited months for this announcement, or it may be the first time you’ve heard of it. Whatever the case, I’m glad it’s begun. At present, there’s but a small quantity of two types of coffee. We started small to gauge interest and work out the kinks. But rest assured, when all bags are purchased, the church won’t have lost any money. We’ll have made $.70!

So will your family join mine in buying your coffee from the church? It may take time to get used to, but it sends a good message to guests and ourselves about Christian priorities- We want all our resources to contribute to God’s vision of abundant life for all life, which goes as much for our purchases as it does our tithes and offerings. I hope this will only be the beginning of a long conversation about justice and mercy and loving our neighbors with all we can. If you want, I’ll be excited to talk more about it with you. Give me a call. We’ll go get coffee. In all things,


Grace and Peace,

Shane Read more!

Let all the people praise thee…

What was your first job? Mine involved newspapers. My mother had a paper route for a few years; her way of contributing to the family income as a ‘stay-at-home’ Mom. And sister Shannon and I would assist from time to time, crowding in the van to hand Mom papers as she drove. We didn’t get paid, of course. We were just helping out the family. What did get Shannon and me rolling in dough, and thus what I consider my ‘first job,’ began one fateful Thanksgiving. Joe (the boss) asked Mom if Shannon and I would help around the paper warehouse that morning, since Thanksgiving papers are HUGE. He’d pay us 50 bucks if we stayed from 2 AM until 6, and since we knew Mom would’ve dragged us along with her anyway, we jumped at Joe’s offer. Apparently, we done good. He asked us back every Sunday for a couple years. The hours weren’t ideal. But for a teenager, staying up past 3 AM without getting into trouble and getting paid was pretty cool. Jealous?

In August 2009, one of the Disciples of Christ founders quit his first job, with no clue what was next. This was Thomas Campbell- Irish immigrant, lapsed Presbyterian minister, and father of Alexander Campbell (another early Disciples leader). A week ago, I enjoyed a presentation that commemorated Thomas Campbell’s daring decision to quit his first job (in America), and it was beautiful. A performer dressed like you might imagine a Christian minister in 1809- top hat, tails, bowtie both big and awkward. He acted like Thomas Campbell, booming voice with a thick accent. And the story he told, in celebration of its 200th anniversary, is one of Disciples history’s most important.

Stop me if you’ve heard it before. The story goes that Campbell first settled in Pennsylvania. The local Presbyterian association invited Thomas to join, and helped him find work teaching and preaching in that area. But soon Thomas, with all the idealism of immigrants on the early American frontier, came under sanction. He’d served Communion to folk who weren’t Old Light Secessionist Presbyterians, and thus, he’d transgressed church expectations. His choice, then, was A) get back in line or B) quit. Having no prospects beyond faith and hope that he might continue serving God, Campbell quit. He’d decided that all those church schisms he’d seen in Ireland, Scotland and now America were terribly beside the point. Jesus had prayed for his followers, “that they may all be one (Jn 17:21),” and Paul had claimed there is but “one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph 4:4-5).” So with some friends, he worked at restoring Christian unity, based on a simple truth that transcends all theological experimentation- Jesus is Lord. In August 1809, he published these thoughts in his Declaration and Address. When it came out, Thomas’ resignation was final. And the “Christian Movement” began. He famously wrote, “The Church of Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally and institutionally one,” and he meant to make that happen!

In hindsight, such unabashed idealism seems naïve. The church remains divided because people need different pathways to approach God’s Holy presence. And this will continue, in one form or another. But the original fervor with which our movement’s founders believed that dissimilar people can and should work and worship together remains impressive, and challenging. Do you seek, in your life of faith, to unite with others? Do you enjoy learning from folk whose language of faith is vastly different from yours? When confronted with conflict or divisiveness, do you strive to overcome by relying on what unites us? Are you tempted to forsake unity for comfort or sameness?

I imagine we answer those questions differently at different points. This week, may we reflect on our founders’ convicting passion for Christian unity, and let it inspire us to try things bold and new. And remember what Thomas Campbell reminds us of- the foundation of all unity- in the final words of the Declaration and Address, quoting Psalm 67:5, “Let the peoples praise thee, O God. Let all the people praise thee.” Amen. In all things,


Grace and Peace,

Shane Read more!

A Summer of Partners and New Activities…

I’ve had an alright summer thus far. One or two big things happened. Last week, I met the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). I traveled to Idaho for the first time to perform the wedding of a college friend. I just learned that a different close friend will soon move to MN to pastor a UCC church in Moorehead. Oh, and I got married. But I haven’t yet spent any time at a lake. So I’m taking the good with the bad, you know?

At the church, we had fun things happen too. We welcomed five different preachers to bring us messages while I was off traveling. Thank you, again, for your support this summer. Our joint picnic with Thy Word for Music in Plymouth was a resounding success from all reports. And I was blown away with the thoughtful execution of this summer’s VBS. We may not have the numbers other churches have, but when it comes to good hospitality to youth and children, numbers matter far less than open hearts and courageous adults willing to enter into meaningful relationships. So thanks to those who helped with that work. And let me encourage you all to continue building meaningful inter-generational relationships with each other. Very few places in American society provide space for such important relationships to occur. Church can, and should, do it well.

Which brings me to something else that happened this summer that I personally find very encouraging. We’ve done some new and cool stuff with St. Edward’s the Confessor Episcopal Church and Plymouth Presbyterian. For those who weren’t aware, you should know that our churches have gotten together this summer on a few occasions. It all began with a conversation I had with their pastors/priest last Spring. We each recognized that none of our churches had the size or budget to offer the kind of programming we’d like. But rather than do nothing, we decided to risk a partnership.

It’s been great. Twice a month, during June, July and August, we’ve held Wednesday night Adult Ed “Summer School” sessions. Give Laurie Leonhart a gold star for perfect attendance. Each time, we watched a twenty-minute video, from a series called NOOMA, followed by a short discussion. These DVDs have made huge waves around American churches for the past few years, especially amongst Young Adults. But we learned that age didn’t matter; their superior production quality and meaningful messages sparked wonderful conversations. Also, twice this summer we tried to get our churches’ youth together for some fun and relationship building. The first event was a Frisbee Golf outing, but no one from our partner churches were able to show up. So PCCC cooked some dawgs and tossed the ‘bee, and otherwise had a good time. Just a few days ago, we got together again at Plymouth Presbyterian for a Youth Service Project, and it was awesome. About 15 folk showed up for about two hours of painting logos on reusable bags for the city of Plymouth, who will hand them out with information about the city’s environmental programs and activities. So we were good Christians, citizens, partners and stewards of God’s Earth- at the same time!

All of this exemplifies one of our key missions at Plymouth Creek- Partnership. And we do this very well, from our established partnerships with Yellow Brick Road and Thy Word, to our emerging partnerships with Plymouth Pres and St. Ed’s, to our occasional partnering with Plymouth Creek Elementary. This church understands the value of working together, which I believe derives from our coming together every week at the Lord’s Table. We constantly remind ourselves that hospitality is something that, first and foremost, we receive from God. Thus, it’s only natural we share it with and receive it from others too. Thanks for your ongoing commitment to the many partnerships we’re forging. And please, keep looking for other partnerships we could begin, and let me know. I’d be glad to help you help our church enter into deeper, more life-giving partnerships with our neighbors. I seem to remember Jesus saying something positive once about something like that…

Grace and Peace,

Shane Read more!