A Thanksgiving List

Waiting for Thanksgiving dinner I am reflecting on some of the things I am thankful for this year:

Having both of our daughters home for a few days, watching the Rockettes and Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a Thanksgiving movie—all family traditions.

Living in Charleston, a place of great history, beauty around every corner, and fabulous food!

Driving over the Wando River in the morning and seeing the marsh, the river, the beauty.

The fact that Wake Forest has come to the point that winning only 6 football games is considered a bad season.

Saturday morning bike rides on Daniel Island that end with a Western Wrap at Island Town Café.

Reconnecting with friends on Facebook.

The privilege of being the pastor at Providence Baptist Church, a healthy congregation where I am continually challenged to do better.

Staff colleagues who have all been together for 8 years—a real rarity in the world today!

Walks on the beach, or through downtown Charleston on a day off.

Health insurance and doctors with whom I can be a partner in my care. (Thanks Dr. Chavis and Rubano and Abou—all female and all wonderful!)

Bike rides to the Isle of Palms, and on Seewee Road, and just to the grocery store.

Oyster roasts—can you have too many oysters?

Church members who are friends and friends who are church members

A great group of ministerial colleagues in other places who are my pastor and friend and confidant and encourager and challenger.

Daughters who tell me about really cool websites, like Channel 131

Friends in other countries who remind me that there is more than my little world.

Newspapers in the morning, both at the kitchen table and online.

Church members who are so incredibly gifted and offer their abilities to the world.

Long straight drives, great chip shots and birdie putts. All of which happen so rarely that when they occur they are almost a miracle!

Shrimp and Grits, and She Crab Soup.

A wife who is my anchor and best friend and the best thing that ever happened to me--even after 25+ years!

I could probably go on and on, but the call has come from the kitchen. Thanksgiving Dinner is ready—oh, I need to add turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce, and of course, Leftover turkey sandwiches which are almost better than the first time around!

Thanks be to God for all the gifts of life!

We Know Why We're Here

The excitement in the Lowcountry of South Carolina is almost too much to bear. After so much bad news--from schools to crime to the misadventures of our governor and other public officials, at long last there was some good news to share.


OK, maybe not good news. GREAT NEWS!


Boeing announced that they would open a second line for the 787 Dreamliner in North Charleston, bringing with it over 3,800 jobs! It was the kind of news that made Democrats and Republicans hug at a news conference! We are thrilled about the possibilities of what this new industry might mean to our area, and to SC.

But there is another reason I am excited about Boeing being around. I hope that their answer might become our question.

I heard it on their commercial.

I love the line--"We know why we're here...to build a new generation of airplanes..." But I have to wonder, how many churches could answer that question?

What is it that we are here for?

Could we put is so succinctly that it would fit in a 30 second commercial?

"We know why we're here..."

Really?

Why?

Remedial Vacation Bible School

I think we need a nationwide prescription for "Remedial Vacation Bible School."

For those who didn’t grow up in the south, attending a week of Vacation Bible School every summer, that was a week long time where you said pledges to flags and the bible, made crafts out of popsicle sticks, played games and at the little “pinkie cookies”—the one with the hole in the center that you would put on your pinkie and eat around. Some of my best memories of growing up are around Vacation Bible School.

It was also where I first learned Bible verses. They would be written on posters, we would put them on crafts, we would write them on our hearts. It was there that I had my most important theology class about the nature of God—God is love. It was there that I had my most important ethics class—Be ye kind, one to another.

In the past few weeks I have come to believe that we need a remedial Vacation Bible School. It is obvious that we have, at the very least, missed out on the ethics class! We have forgotten to be kind. It is seen in congressmen yelling at the president, athletes threatening officials, rock stars acting arrogantly at the expense of others.

But then, we have come to expect that kind of behavior from them! I mean, politicians, athletes, rock starts—who really expects them to be kind one to another?

But what about us? Especially those of us in the church, those who claim to follow the God who is love? How are we doing on the kindness front? I have heard of families which have come apart and suddenly people forget to be kind. They are just mean. I have heard of congregations and ministers suddenly at each other’s throats—forgetting to be ye kind!

I also see it at times in myself—how kind am I when I am cut off in traffic, when I am standing in a check-out line, when I can’t watch my favorite TV show because someone else has taken my TV? Oh, I don’t yell, or threaten, or force myself in, but how kind am I?

Maybe what our nation needs is some time with popsicle stick crafts, a “pinkie cookie” and a memory verse poster to take home. “Be ye kind, one to another.”

Praying the Paper

It is my normal morning routine. I get up—first in a family of “non-morning people,” go downstairs, walk outside and get the paper, walk in, feed the cat, get some coffee and then read the newspaper. The whole paper. Granted there are some mornings that it doesn’t take that long—but I read the whole paper—the news, the business section, the obituaries, “Dear Abby.” There is a ritual to the reading. I do a quick review of the front page, then the front page of each section. Then beginning with Section A I read. Then I move to section B (after which I usually get another cup of coffee) then to the sports, and then, and only then to the comics. (There is also a ritual order of reading them too, but that is another story!)

I often will finish by pulling out my Blackberry and checking the headlines of the New York Times, the Washington Post. Several times a day I know that I will make my way back to the news. Yes, I am addicted. ( “Hi. My name is Don and I am a news-aholic!” “Hi Don!”) I do have this fear that something has happened in some remote South Abughasistan in the last 15 minutes that I don’t know about.

For the longest time I really felt bad about that. I know people who get up early in the morning and run, or play racquetball, or do yoga, or meditation. But then I came across a short little reflection on, of all places, the website of Providence Baptist Church. I had typed it in, but really hadn’t paid much attention to it. But one morning, there is was.

I've never been very good at feasting on the daily newspaper. It turns bitter in my mouth. And yet, this is my world. This face of suffering I must embrace as a part of my responsibility. Part of the feast is becoming aware of the world that is mine. Part of the feast is owning this broken world as my own brokenness. I clasp the newspaper to my heart and ask once again in the stillness of the night, "What are we doing to the image of God in one another?"

Macrina Wiederkehr

A Tree Full of Angels

And it hit me. That is what I do in the morning. Reading the newspaper is a ritual for me—a spiritual ritual. It is my devotional time, no less than when I spend time reading St. Luke, or II Kings, or Ephesians. Reading the paper is not just about finding out what has happened in the world, it is finding out what is happening in God’s world. At times it is a time of praise—of celebrating those moments when God’s creation is revealed—a new planet discovered, the sequencing of the human genome/ At other times it is confession—another murder, another war, another person lacking the very necessities of life--those things that I just take for granted, another incident of people spewing forth hatred in word and deed just to get their way.. There is a time of intercession, as I read the names in the obituaries, as I read of a family who has lost their home to a fire, for countries devastated by war, famine, total inhumanity.

If that were all that went on, then it would be fine. Of course, if that were all prayer was it would be a lot easier too! But there is that time in prayer, and in reading the paper, when I just have to listen, to see what it is that God is calling on me to do. Is this a concern that needs to make it into a sermon? Is this worth a letter to the editor, a call to a legislator? Is this just another rant and rave around the house? (Anita especially dislikes those, although she is often amused by them!)

Reading the paper is a ritual. That is a religious word that means how we do things, how we open ourselves up allowing God to perhaps break through and speak. One of mine is reading the paper, listening to the news, discovering my part in the brokenness of the world, my own brokenness. It is only then that the healing of God can flow. And surprisingly, it might just flow over, to and through me.

So read the paper! Let God speak to you through the Front Page

The Name on the Sign

The sentiment comes up all the time! It comes from people who have finally wandered into worship, saying, "I walked past your church for months before I was brave enough to come in!" I hear it from myself when I invite people to church saying, "I am the pastor of Providence Baptist Church, but..." I hear it in the bewilderment from others when they wonder why I am the chair of the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, or having a glass of wine at dinner, or dancing at a wedding reception.

It is a sad thing! "Baptist" is one of those good words that in so many circles has gone bad. In a post-denominational world, where no one really asks, "What kind of Episcopalian are you?" or, "Are you a really-Calvinistic Presbyterian?" questions are raised about Baptists.

Much of it is our own fault! Baptist are the largest Protestant denomination in the US, and for the past 30 years we have been engaged in a intra-family feud that had little to do with God, Jesus, the Bible or the Kingdom of God. It has been about control, and power and real estate. It has been about who gets to control their little part of the kingdom, which culture would win.
(Now before anyone else starts to get giddy with glee about the downfall of Baptists, let me remind you of Martin Marty's great line about the "baptisfication of American religious life." The same battle are now being fault in every other denomination.)

So the question arises all the time--shouldn't we just get rid of the word Baptist on our sign? It really wouldn't change anything about the way we do church. We would still have the same style of worship, the same commitment to doing missions, the same structure. The name reduction would only serve to reduce the negative baggage that Baptist now carries.
There is still a part of me though, that really hates allowing others to steal all the good words. I hate the fact that the very freedoms that make America America are core Baptist ideas--freedom of religion, separation of church and state. Those are ideas worth fighting over!

But is a name?

The easy way out would be just to take those letters off the sign, to re-brand ourselves as "Providence Church on Daniel Island," or even go back to our original name, "The Church Outside the Walls."

Another solution however might be to be really honest and loud about who we are. We are a Baptist church that invites people to bring their minds to worship. We are a Baptist church that invites diverse--at even opposing ideas of those who are truly seeking God. We are a Baptist church that is more concerned with the Kingdom of God than any kingdom of our making. We are a Baptist church that really believes in those core Baptist ideas like freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. We are a Baptist church that says that anyone who is in need of the grace of God is welcomed here--and who does that leave out? That is a different kind of place! Maybe the kind of place that you would be interested in visiting, in joining?

It reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live skit about Smuckers Jelly. Remember when their slogan was "With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good!" The Not Ready for Prime Time Players had a field day with that!

But maybe so should we! "With a name like Baptist, you have to be different!"
I am sure that this conversation will continue! I hope it does. Let me know what you think!

Where Are You Located?

Where are you located?

That is a question that often comes our way. Even if you grew up in Charleston, Daniel Island is a strange world--a place that for many years was not reachable unless you had a boat or a lot of time! Even now, with an interstate leading to our front door, I am surprised how many people have never ventured over to our "little island town."

So people often ask, where are you located?

It is a question that can be answered in so many different ways. The basic answer is that we are located at 294 Seven Farms Drive. Providence is the "cute little church with the green roof;" the one just across from Daniel Island Academy, the church on the right as you are heading towards Bishop England High School. (click here for a map and better directions)

But there is another answer to the question, "Where are you located?" In many ways Providence is located outside--outside what most people consider "Baptist." We are a part of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, having voted 3 different times NOT to be a part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In our congregation are people who still refer to our services as "mass." We have individuals who were baptized in many different manners at different points in their lives. We have women who not only offer their leadership, but serve as ordained ministers in our congregation. (In fact, we have ordained 4 ministers in the history of our church--3 of them are female.) We take the Bible VERY seriously, but not literally. Our ministers wear robes for worship, we value different--sometimes even opposing positions. In short, Providence is really outside what most people consider Baptist. (Our first name was "The Church Outside the Walls"--probably should have stuck with that!)

But there is still another answer. As we were preparing to move to Daniel Island, Frank Tupper came to spend a weekend with us to talk about the providence of God. (That is a theological idea that deals with how God works in the world--a real cliff note idea. For a better understanding, get Frank's book, A Scandalous Providence. A great read!) During that weekend he made the statement "Providence is located where God's actions and our lives intersect." In many ways that is exactly where we hope Providence is located--where God's actions and our lives intersect. We hope that this is a place where we can struggle with the realities of our lives while seeking to discover where God is. But even more we hope to discover what God is about so that we can join in what god is doing.

Where are you located? At the intersection of Seven Farms Dr and Daniel Island Drive. But even more, I pray that we are located where God's actions and our lives intersect.