briguys babble

Oh What A Night

2008-08-04T23:31:00.005-05:00

So, it's been awhile since I last posted something. A lot has happened between then and now. I've been on two mission trips that went really well. I've been to Jurisdictional Conference, that could have went better. I've had two hair cuts and sixty seven cups of coffee. Actually, I'm not sure about the coffee part, I guestamated.

Where did summer go, I can't believe it's August already. Not sure I have any great wisdom to share tonight, but just felt like writing. Needed to vent. Hope your ok with that.

I was talking with a young man tonight sharing with me about how a friend of his is doing drugs. Then I had another call from a friend who is probably going to lose his house because his wife lost her job and they can't make the house payments and are two payments behind.

It's sad how rough life can be sometimes. Trying to help people understand and move forward in the journey, when the journey doesn't seem so good can be a hard place to be.

What do you say to a man who's crying on the phone because he can't keep his home for his wife and two children. A man who has worked and lived for the past 12 years to make this house a home.

Things I thought about saying.

God is with you. (Yeah I know.)
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. (Tell that to my 3 year old and 7 year old.)
Somehow you will make it through. (Are you sure.)
Home is where you're heart is. (Thanks I know that.)
At least you have your family. (Well, for now.)

So this is what I said to him.
" I don't know why this is happening to you. What I do know is that even when I've felt like God had deserted me (and there have been many of those times, you'd think I'd learn), God was still there. I don't have all the answers. I don't know what's going to happen to you and your family. But I do know that I love and care about you, and that you are surrounded by other friends and family who feel the same way. Even though it doesn't feel like it, I believe you are going to be ok. One of these days, I hope you can feel that way too. No matter what happens. I will pray for you and I'm here for you."

After getting off the phone and having some time to think, it brought all of the stuff with the economy a lot closer to home. I've seen the reports on TV about people losing their home, but this made it real.

Please pray for those who are struggling, pray for those who are losing there homes, for families who don't know where they are going to be staying tonight. Pray for children who don't know where their next meal is coming from, and then, think of a way to do something about it. It doesn't have to be big and grand. It may be taking some food to a shelter, or helping prepare a meal. Whatever it is, let's do something, anything to help those who are struggling with this day. Share a little love. Give a little hope. Thanks for reading.

"grace beyond belief"
brian

Saturday Morning

2008-05-17T10:22:00.005-05:00

It's a beautiful morning! Sitting on the deck drinking a cup of coffee, reading the paper with Talos running around the backyard with a plastic flower planter in his mouth, actually almost covering his head. Now, for those of you who haven't met Talos yet, (I wrote about him earlier) he is 1/2 Wiemeraner and 1/2 Lab I call him a Wiemadore. He weighs 85 lbs. The plastic tub he's carrying around is about 18 inches across and use to be full of dirt and flowers. Again, he decided we needed to do some rearranging in the back yard, and the flowers and dirt ended up on the back patio. But watching him run around throwing the planter into the air is worth it. He is just loving being outside in the backyard in the warm sunshine. I am also loving being in this moment the warm sunshine on my face. Appreciating all the beauty, love and grace God has blessed me with in my life.

This morning at our church we are having a funeral for a young man who was 26 years old and the principal cellist for the symphony in Augusta, Georgia. He was shot early in the morning last Sunday. Just like that, a life is gone.

Life is so amazing and yet can be so fleeting. We never know where the journey will lead and what turns will come next. So just a little reminder, enjoy the day, love your friends and family, and love yourself because you deserve it!

Peace and Love, brian

Keeping Writing

2008-05-14T10:34:00.003-05:00

So, I've decided that I like putting my thoughts down on, well, I was going to say paper, but that's not really true. I guess I should say posting them for the world to see. Even though everyone and their dog has a blog these days!

Got some pictures from some friends of mine with their kids playing outside and they had dumped a planter of dirt all over the deck and eventually all over themselves. In the pictures, you can see how much fun they were having with dirt in their hair, all over themselves and caked on their bottoms. All the while with big smiles on their faces. Those were the days weren't they? When you didn't care what time it was, what you had to do, or if your clothes were clean. Just a time to be, genuine, with all of our lumps and bumps. Living in God's light.

I know that is how God wants us to be, but sometimes it is so hard. People are watching, other's have expectations, there is so much to think about. We can be pretty hard on ourselves. Then I remember this scripture.

Psalm 139: 12-14

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

I hope we all know, I hope you know, that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. A beautiful child of God. May you know that today and everyday and never forget. Blessings!

In it for the journey, brian

Sorry

2008-05-05T12:55:00.008-05:00

So, I'm sorry I didn't write following the vote at General Conference on Wednesday to change the language in the Book of Discipline. I felt so confident that this was going to be the year, but it wasn't to be.

In reflecting the past few days, the first thing I need to say is "THANK YOU" to everyone who had the courage, faith and the hope to try and make this happen yet again. To my friends who stood and supported not only me, but everyone who stands in the margins of our church, you are a wonderful people! To Dale and Bev who were there with us this time, you are loved!

In my heart, I know that the day will come when everyone is loved, accepted and compatible in the United Methodist Church. For now, I'm glad that I have been blessed with working at two amazing churches. Trinity UMC in Salina, who started me on this journey, and College Hill United in Wichita an amazing place to be and work. Everyday, I become more and more aware of the special place these churches are, not only in our conference, but in the United Methodist Church as a whole. Thank you Trinity! College Hill know that our church is an oasis. Sometimes I think we forget. What a blessing you are College Hill!

To those of you who were hurt by the church and by the vote at General Conference, know that you are in my prayers. I pray everyday for the day when the church gets it. That no one should be excluded from the everlasting, undeniable love of God.

For those of you who voted to keep the language the same, I pray for you as well. Know that you are loved by a God who loves us all. No one stands outside the circle.

Keep on keeping on! Love and Faith, brian

Disappointment

2008-04-30T23:51:00.001-05:00

Suffice it to say it was not the outcome we prayed for, more later. Need to process. Blessings, brian

General Conference Live Feed

2008-04-29T10:39:00.002-05:00

Just FYI if you want to check out what's going on at General Conference, there is a live feed. You can check it out here. General Conference Live

I will try to let you all know when the vote is going to come on the new 161.G

Have a great day! Blessings, brian

Human Sexuality Text

2008-04-29T10:03:00.004-05:00

Ok, here is the text for the new 161.G that people have been asking to see. It's long. We still have to get it passed by the whole conference, but have faith and keep the prayers coming. It's not perfect, but a step in the right direction.

We recognize that sexuality is Gods good gift to all persons. We believe persons may be fully human only when that gift is acknowledged and affirmed by themselves, the church and society. We call all persons to the disciplined, responsible fulfillment of themselves, others and society in the stewardship of this gift. We also recognize our limited understanding of this complex gift and encourage the medical, theological, and social science disciplines to combine in a determined effort to understand human sexuality more completely. United Methodists, along with other Christians, have struggled to find principles for applying traditional teachings to contemporary understanding of human sexuality. We recognize that sexuality is part of the larger human mystery, to be received and acknowledged in grateful responsibility. We reject all sexual expressions that damage or destroy the humanity God has given us. We deplore all forms of the commercialization and exploitation of sexual relations, with their consequent cheapening and degradation of human personality.. We call for strict global enforcement of laws prohibiting the sexual exploitation or use of children by adults and encourage efforts to hold perpetrators legally and financially responsible. We call for adequate protection, guidance and counseling for children thus abused. We believe that the Church family should support all families in providing age-appropriate education regarding sexuality to children, youth and adults. We challenge all members of our community of faith to commitment, integrity and fidelity in their sexual relationships. We know that all are Gods children and of sacred worth; we have been and remain divided regarding homosexual expressions of human sexuality. Faithful, thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness. We continue to reason and pray together with faith and hope that the Holy Spirit will soon bring reconciliation to our community of faith. The fire in our disagreements points to a deeper human mystery than we knew. We believe that the Spirit has brought our collective conscience to acknowledge this mystery more honestly and to make our claims with greater humanity before God and our neighbors. We therefore ask the Church, United Methodist and others, and the world to refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices until the Spirit leads us to new insight. In the meantime, let us seek to welcome, know, forgive and love one another as Christ has accepted us, that God may be glorified through everything in our lives.

Winds of Change

2008-04-28T22:48:00.007-05:00

Well, it's been another good day. I have several pictures on here today. I hope you enjoy. One of the pictures is from worship. The worship so far has been great. Lots of different kinds of music and the preaching has been pretty good as well.

Last night, we were treated to a concert by the Texas boys choir. They were great. Then, now don't get to excited, we had the opportunity to set on a real live Texas Longhorn and have our picture taken. Have to tell you I was deeply disappointed that the bull had to leave before I got my picture taken. He however seemed pretty happy to be going home.

Today, we had an African children's choir who sang for us. They were amazing. Dancing and singing with so much joy. It was great.

As I've experienced this conference, it seems to me that their is a wind of change. A new spirit that is sweeping through. It's hard because you want to have faith that things can change, and they appear to be, but you're also scared because you've been hurt before. I've decided that I'm going to believe and live on the faith side of things. I'm going to have faith that this will be the year that change happens.

Today we had a vote on the judicial council. All of the council members elected were those recommended by the Council of Bishops. None of those lifted from the floor were elected. A good sign.

Please keep the prayers coming. I'm not sure when the new paragraph 161. G will come to the floor, but it's looking like late Wednesday or Thursday morning. I'll keep you posted.

One of the great things about conference is meeting new friends and getting to know other acquaintances better. I have to say I have been having a great time hanging out with the Kansas East delegation and getting to know them better. What a great group of people. Not that I didn't know that already, but it's been fun being with them.

Thanks again for your prayers and for reading my blog. Have to say hi to my mom. She's been reading my blog so I just want her to know how much I love her. Love ya Mom! Actually, I have a great family and couldn't be anymore blessed.

OK enough of my emotional babble. Thanks for reading. Hope you all have a blessed day and we will chat again soon. brian

Good Day

2008-04-27T17:27:00.005-05:00

Well, it's been a long couple of days. The sub-committee I have been observing met until 11:40 p.m. last night. Then we had to be back here by 8 a.m. this morning. For those of you who don't know me, the 11:40 is not a problem. The 8 a.m. stinks. Lots of coffee, more coffee please!

However, there is good news. As of 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, the Church and Society 2 committee passed a good piece of legislation, and rejected keeping the language the same in the Book of Discipline concerning 161.G on homosexuality.

I wish I had the petition in front of me to give you all of the language, but we can't have it until tomorrow. As soon as I can get it, I will post it for you. Suffice it to say that it does not use the language that we find the practice of homosexuality incompatible with Christian teaching. It does talk about how we are not all of one mind and can agree to disagree.

As I said, it's not perfect. But it does move this issue forward, and I think it's a good step. Some day my friends, some day.

Now, the legislation will go to the full body. Please continue to pray for all of the delegates, for this legislation and for people's hearts to be opened. It's going to be a tough row to hoe, but I am praying that we can at least get this done.

Thank you all for your messages, for your love and support. Thank you to my College Hillians for being the church you are and for loving any and all for who God created them to be. You have kept the faith and I love and appreciate all of you!

To my students at College Hill, I miss you like the flower misses the sun. (Trivia: What movie is that from?) Thanks for brightening my day with your calls, emails and texts. You are the best. To all of the parents and sponsors helping out while I'm gone, thank you is all I've got right now, but it's not enough. Can't wait to see you all, 7 more days! Hugs, brian

Let The Fun Begin

2008-04-25T07:34:00.006-05:00

Well, sorry I didn't get anything posted yesterday. I sort of forgot how long the days are here. Opening day, we arrived at the convention center at 7:30 a.m. and didn't get into bed until 1 a.m. We started with the Bishop's address. It was very good. Spent time talking about the state of the church, the decline in membership and some of the areas that we need to improve. That moved into a presentation by 4 of the General Secretaries on the 4 areas of focus for the church. They are;

1. Developing Principled Christian Leaders

2. New Congregations and Renewing Existing Congregations

3. Engaging in Ministry with the poor

4. Stamping out diseases of poverty and improving health globally

It has been interesting. All of our speakers outside of the Young People's address have been women. It seems to me this is sort of intentional due to the language of holy conferencing and trying to keep everyone getting along. Sort of that motherly approach.

Speaking of the Young People's address, they did a great job. There were 5 young people, 3 male and 2 female students who did a great job. They moved back and forth between speakers using video and music. Very well done and presented a great message. They really addressed the church and said "We need to get back to ministry and stop fighting over issues that are non-issues for us."

Legislative committee's began to organize last night, so we haven't really gotten into any legislation at this point. It will be interesting to see if this "holy conferencing" will hold out during this process. I am sitting in on Church and Society 2, which is dealing with human sexuality issues. There were two men behind me talking to each other about the "homosexual agenda" and then going on to lay out to each other what they needed to do to keep the homosexuals out of the church. Talk about agenda. Ear dropping is such fun. The good part is they are not on the legislative committee, just observing, but still.

Well, I need to get ready for the day. I'll try to catch up with more later. Have a great day all and I will chat later. Grace and Peace, brian

We're Here

2008-04-22T17:35:00.005-05:00

Well, I got to Fort Worth last night about 11:00 p.m. Spent today running around the conference center and figuring out downtown, while my roomate was in meetings. It's going to be an interesting 10 days. People are already here handing out propaganda. I hope that holy conferencing will actually take place, but I am watching people line up in their groups just as they had the last time I was here. Thought I would add a couple of pictures today. One of them is the Texas Star made out of hats and the other is the Water Gardens right outside the conference center.

Also, have to say hi to my students at College Hill! Have a great week! brian

What A Weekend

2008-04-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't know about you, but it's been quite a weekend. I'll try to keep this somewhat short. My plan for the weekend was packing and getting ready to leave for General Conference today. However, this is how it started.

This story is about my dog, so if you're not an animal lover, you can skip it. My dog Talos is a 10 month old Weimadore (half Weimerander and half Lab). He's very spoiled and is a house dog, even though he now weights 85 lbs. Friday night, I decided to go to a movie with a friend. I have been leaving Talos in the back yard sometimes when I'm gone for short periods of time. So Friday night I left him in the back yard, while I went to the movie. I got back home a couple of hours later, it was 9:30 p.m. Normally, when I drive in, Talos is at the back gate to meet me, but he was not there. I called him and looked around the back yard, but he was not there, my heart sank. I am very attached to my dog and he is like a part of the family. I was very worried. I went to a couple of my neighbors homes, but they had not seen him. I jumped in the car and began driving down the street with my windows down yelling his name. I drove all around for over an hour, to no avail. I could not find him. I went back home and was very upset. I began to think "find your way home Talos, find your way home" I just kept thinking that. Almost like a mantra. I stayed at the house for awhile and kept checking the door to see if he had shown up. But he had not. A little after 11, I got back in the car and started looking again. I decided to drive the rout that we usually walk every evening. I was about 6 blocks away near the golf course by my house and was still thinking "find your way home" as I yelled his name. Just then, I caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of my mind. There running down the street was Talos. A little worse for wear with some cuts and scrapes, but all in all looking pretty happy to have been found. I was a lot happier as well.

I began to think after this ordeal that maybe that's how God feels about those of us who sometimes wander off, or who haven't had the chance yet to meet God. "Find your way home, find your way home." Then the relief that comes when it happens. I think that must be what God feels when we do "find our way home." A sense of relief and peace. So what I've learned is it's not only important for me to help my dog find his way home, but for me to help those around me "find their way home" as much as I can. I hope you too will continue to help people "find their way home," because God is waiting and watching for them and wants them to be a part of the family.

Oh yeah, I'm still finishing packing and trying to get everything done. Talk to ya from Fort Worth! Peace, brian

Question about Central and Regional Conferences

2008-04-18T10:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm going to give this a go, but don't hold me to it. This is sort of the story.

In an effort to make the United Methodist Church more of a global church with "central conferences" having equitable representation, the Connectional Table and Council of Bishops have put forth this petition to begin that process.

In the proposal known as the Jones proposal, it will amend the Constitution and change the name "central conference" to "regional conference". Then in future General Conferences, it will allow the U.S. to become a regional conference as well. At this point, it does not change existing jurisdictions. It sort of establishes a mid level body between General and Jurisdictional Conferences. It is not clear on the issue of whether the regional conferences will still have the flexibility that the existing central conferences have now to adapt the Discipline to meet conditions in their own areas.

One of the concerns is that it would still allow one region (U.S.) to have more power than another.

In the Robbins/Okayam proposal, it calls for four years of study so that all regions could contribute in an equitable way to the Church's apportioned funds as well as to empower each region to structure itself in appropriate ways based on cultural considerations related to missional activities, qualifications for ordination and chargeable offenses, and to adopt "Social Principals" that fit with that region.

So to break it down a little more, the real question as I see it, is are we going to set up regional conferences that can pick and choose which parts of "The Book of Discipline" they want to follow. Right now, the "central conferences" are doing it. So there needs to be a decision on what parts of the discipline can you or can't you decide to follow. Then, once that is decided, how are we going to structure the U.S. so we can change the parts we want to change as well.

Then the second part is when we are all together as a General Conference how do we make it equitable for voting and input when the major growth in the church is outside of the United States.

The change to regional conferences will allow the imbalance between being inside or outside of the U.S. to dissipate. It will allow everyone to be equal partners.

I guess that's sort of it in a nut shell as I see it. Hope it helps a little.

My Opinion

So I think the idea is a good one. I'm not sure the best way to implement it at this point. One of the things about the UMC is how much we have to study everything, but maybe this is a place where we really do need to step back, do a little more studying and then move forward. I would not want us to delay this anymore than the next General Conference. There are legitimate concerns about justice and being a global church and what that means. I think a little more study will help us address the issues of equity and autonomy. It will also give us time to figure out what "regions" of the church we want to establish.

Well, that's it for now. Got to do some more laundry and keep packing. Of course who am I kidding, I haven't even started packing yet, ;-) but I'll get there. Have a great day and be blessed.

Thanks for your prayers, brian

Giving It A Go

2008-04-17T14:58:00.001-05:00

So, I've decided after some encouragement from the B-Team (and Holly) to give blogging a try while I'm at General Conference. So if you would like to hear some of my thoughts and see what I have to say, you can check in with me daily and I will give you the scoop on what's going on and how I feel about it. If you don't care, that's fine too. Just keep our delegation in your prayers.

Everyone has been asking what are the issues facing the General Conference? Taking a look at the DCA (Daily Christian Advocate) which is the book of all the legislation so far presented for General Conference, which happens to be 3 inches thick, there is a lot.

Here is a brief synopsis of some of the major issues. No personal comments at this point, just the issues.

Divestment by the United Methodist Church - There are many petitions dealing with divestment by the UMC from any and all companies that profit from sales of products or services that cause harm to Palestinians and Israelis. One of the major companies is Caterpillars, Inc.

Peace in the Middle East - There will also be petitions in a couple of other categories that deal with peace in the Middle East. One category will be justice, peace and security for both Israel and Palestine; the other petitions only include Israel.

Open Membership in the UMC - This issue will deal with the Judicial Council Decision 1032. It determined that the pastor of a local church has the sole authority for determining a person's readiness for membership. It stems from a pastors decision to deny membership to a parishioner just due to the fact that he was gay.

Global Church Structure - There are three proposals coming regarding the worldwide restructuring of the UMC.

The first comes from the Connectional Table and the Council of Bishops under the name of our Bishop, Scott Jones. Very basically, the Jones proposal seeks to amend the Constitution to change the name "central conference" to "regional conference" and opens the door for a future General Conference to establish the U.S. as a regional conference.

The second comes from Bruce Robbins and Elizabeth Okayama and seeks to establish a task group on structure to bring a proposal for equitable change to the 2012 General Conference.

The third comes from Frank Wulf and puts the U.S. jurisdictional conferences on par with the central conferences, designates all of them by the name "regional conference," and provides them all with the same powers and responsibilities. It requires constitutional changes.

Constitutional changes require a two-thirds majority vote.

Judicial Council - During the 2008 General Conference there will be 5 members elected to the Judicial Council, two laypersons and three clergy. There are several petitions dealing with how we elect Judicial Council members, membership requirements for lay members, slowing down the pace of Judicial Council elections, clarifying standards for Judicial Council members.

Sexuality and Reproductive Care - These issues will deal with homosexuality, abortion, transgendered persons.

There are many different petitions dealing with homosexuality and the church. Membership, incompatibility, ordination and on and on.

There is a petition calling for the United Methodist Church to remove itself from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The UMC was a founding member of the RCRC.

Another issue is transgendered persons and ordination. There will be petitions dealing with transgendered persons and should they be allowed to seek ordination.

There you have it. I think that's enough for my first day. My head is hurting, and we haven't even left yet. My prayer continues to be for the United Methodist Church to live into it's slogan for the past several years.

"Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors, the people of the United Methodist Church." Let it be so. Have a blessed day, brian