Christmas letters...

It's time for the annual Christmas letter. Or, for the Zuidemas, it will be the mid-winter letter, because I haven't started ours yet.

Either through the mail or our box at church, we've been getting a lot of Christmas letters. Cards with stars and shepherds are common, so are the pictures of families with Mom and Dad often strangely absent. I don't think they want to have a photographic record of how they've aged over the past year. Kids are supposed to grow up. We just get balder, grayer, fatter, wrinkly-er and so on.

We've received some gift cards to area restaurants, and we're looking forward to trying out some places we haven't been to before. Just before I wrote this note--for some reason I can't bring myself to say "blog"--someone brought in a large "Dutch letter" pastry or "banket" for some of you (pronounced bahn-KET).

Anyhow, everybody seems to put on the best face for these notes and letters. However, as a pastor to many of these families, I know that life has been far from easy for many of them. Illnesses and death, trouble at work or with family, or even worse, trouble at work with family.

However, most of the letters have the pictures and a little blurb summarizing the year's highlights. Usually, everybody is " busy" and "doing well" and they wish us joy as we celebrate the "reason for the season." (Call me a curmudgeon, but I am a little tired of that phrase.)

One note stuck out for me. It was from a family who were members of the church I served while in Michigan. I found out in the past year that they had moved from Grand Rapids to Grand Haven. It made sense for them, due to the husband's long commute to his work while they lived in G.R.

Everybody was healthy. The photos showed that the kids were getting bigger. There were no pictures showing if the adults were getting balder, grayer, fatter, wrinkly-er and so on. All was well, and I thought, "Good for them."

Yet, my heart hurt for my former church. This family was what I would call a "core" family. The husband was a very capable and thoughtful leader in Council. His wife was a leader as well, helping plan worship at church. The liturgies she crafted were almost always on point, engaging, and helped provide a strong accent to whatever the topic or theme was for the day.

They moved six months ago and I never heard about it. No one was obligated to tell me. Yet, hearing the news brought me back to when I was open to considering a call to go elsewhere. I knew that there was a good chance that this family was probably going to move sometime soon and I knew that at that time didn't have the energy to fill the hole that they would leave. It wasn't the main reason I left. I don't think there was a main reason. Yet, I'd be lying if I said that it didn't play a part in influencing my decision.

Hearing that they had moved just sucked the wind out of me. Like some amputees who have "phantom pain" from the lost limb, I felt the sense of loss that my former church must have felt. I am no longer a pastor at that church. Yet, I still love the people there. Just like I love the people where I am at. Sure, there are some I am glad I left behind, but they aren't the ones I think about.

All this said, I guess its a reminder to me, that the church needs its members to be the church and not just the "crowd." Perhaps there are some pastors out there who have so much energy and talent that they are practically forces of nature--and can fill those empty spots at the drop of a hat. Not me. I need people who love the church enough that I don't necessarily have to cheer lead them into action. They are there, ready to be used in whatever way God wants them to be used. They are spiritual self-starters--if that's an appropriate term. Even though I am 700 miles away I mourn the loss for that church.

One last realization, though. I am guessing that while I am saddened, my former church is doing fine. I don't say this to give this piece a cloying ending where everything is tied up in a bow. Things work out. People adjust. The church moves on. New people step in to take responsibility and do well. The church changes directions--maybe for the better. God takes care of his church. I've been witness to this several times. Yet, that doesn't mean it's easy.

Probably all of a half a dozen people know that this blog--there, I said it--exists. So, if you're reading this, you might know the names and the places I have left unmentioned. If not, no big deal. What I have learned is that Christmas cards make me thankful for where I am and the people I have the privilege to serve. They also make me thankful for where I've been as well. And, as I found out today, even though people get older, kids grow up, and families move away, a part of you never leaves that place.

Frosty

 
 
 
Leah took a walk this morning with her friend, Julie. A thick fog had settled over town early in the morning, but the temperature was close to freezing. The walk, the fog, and the temperature had an interesting effect.

Graduation

Well, it's done. She's crossed the finish line. It was worth the 700 miles and driving through snow for eight hours. The video is of Leah being "hooded" by Marilyn, the chair of her doctoral committee and her crossing the line of graduation.



Also, here's some pictures of our trip. Of interest, we passed the Oscar Meyer "Weinermobile" on the tollway by Schaumburg outside of Chicago.



Other interesting happenings... After the graduation, an Asian fellow took pictures of Lindsey and Emily, "So cute!" He said. Also, there was a German family who sat behind us. After the ceremony was finished, the mother(?) pulled out a small hand drum and a tambourine, complete with mallets and handed them to the girls. Apparently, they had brought the instruments to celebrate and make noise when their family member crossed the line. However, they must have been chastened by the announcements hanging on the door that banners and noisemakers of any kind were prohibited. So, the girls were recipients of the contraband and we listened to their beautiful music on the van ride back to the hotel.

i love snow.

Nothing like driving through two states in a steady snow. As we prepared to leave for Leah's graduation in E. Lansing, we watched forecasts and radar to see where the snow would be. South looked bad. North looked good. So, we went north... and drove into snow.

We drove past snowplows that either tried to blind us with all the snow they threw into the air or with their their seizure inducing flashing lights. We drove past vehicles in the ditch, some that looked like their might be serious injury involved. We drove on roads that were being coated with a steady snow, making us drive a tedious 15-25 miles per hour less than the speed limit.

I couldn't help but feeling angry at the snow--stupid as that sounds. We had worked so hard to avoid it. We wanted to be so responsible on where we drove and seeing all the advisories were to the south, we thought we'd miss any of the white stuff. Maybe we even felt a little smug that we were so savvy in our planning. It is/was a control issue.

The right answer is that I am supposed to be thankful that we arrived safe. My first inclination, though, is to be frustrated that I had to be worried about our safety. I didn't want the stress of weather added to the stress of traveling in general

Anyhow, after some switching of hotels, we headed into Middleton, west of Madison. We were thankful for a warm bed and a safe trip so far.

Today, we head to E.Lansing. The computer is telling us that we are looking at 375 miles or around 6.5 hours if we can drive at a normal speed. I will be satisfied if I can see where I am going and I don't have to white knuckle the whole drive.

Off to see Leah where a mortarboard and get "hooded."

AWOL Santa

Sinterklaas didn’t show up this year and we were disappointed. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we traveled to Pella to visit family. Its been a tradition in Pella that on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, there is a small parade where Sinterklaas, the Netherlands’ version of Santa Claus rides down Franklin St. in a big boat (with wheels) and passes in front of the Tulip Tower. Traveling with him are some folks dressed up as gifts—box costumes with ribbons. Trailing behind is the newly selected Tulip Queen and her court—making one of their first official appearances since their selection.

Sound a little cheesy? Yes, it is. However, it has always given us an excuse to go up town and grab a coffee or head to one of the local bakeries for some Dutch Letters, macaroons, or my daughters’ preference, “Cookies with LOTS of frosting.”

This year we showed up, waiting for Town Crier to announce the coming of Sinterklaas. There were quite a few others milling around the town square waiting as well. Soon, we hear the buzz that there wasn’t going to be a parade. There was a rumor that there wasn’t enough interest, or that those normally in the parade had other obligations.

So, there we stood, pastries in hand, waiting for a parade that wasn’t going to happen. We shrugged our shoulders, expressed a little disappointment, and then we went home. Sinterklaas was soon forgotten.

Over this Christmas season we will drive past houses covered with flashing, blinking, lights, some even choreographed to music. (Pretty clever.) Our children may be dressed up like shepherds or wise men. We will arrange miniature nativity scenes on our mantles. We will put up trees, buy gifts, and make Christmas themed treats. We do all this to celebrate a birth that happened over 2000 years ago.

In the minds of some, this is simply silly. To be honest, a lot of it maybe is. There has long been the complaint that Christmas is too commercialized and that we forget the “Reason for the Season.”

Yet, amidst all the decoration and flash, most Christians acknowledge that they have hope that Jesus will make His appearance again. Christmas may mark Jesus earthly birth years ago, but it should also point ahead to the time He comes again.

I encourage you to celebrate, decorate, and enjoy the holiday, but somewhere between the tinsel and bows, the Christmas meal and treats take a minute and reflect on Jesus’ impending coming. If another holiday passes and Christ has not yet come again, may we be a little disappointed, but may we never forget that He is coming again. May that hope change us. Decorations will be packed away. Lights will come down, but may we never lose our desire to see the King. May we say, “Maranatha,” “Come, O Lord. Come soon.”

Hull is Steamrolled

The latest big attraction in Hull--one of many, I assure you, is the lightshow offered by one of our citizens (who attends the church I serve, I am proud to say).

FACEBOOK!

I am so current, so relevant. I now have a Facebook page. Now I will wait patiently for all my friends to appear.

Truth and the Golden Compass

Truth, not the saccharin "Truthiness" of Stephen Colbert is one of the themes of the book, "The Golden Compass," by Philip Pullman. As the opening book of the "The Dark Materials" trilogy, Pullman introduces us to a type of parallel universe, where things resemble the world we live in, but yet unique and different. Truth, or the Magisterium's hiding of the truth (i.e. the church) is there for Lyra, to try to find.

As a side note, as I begin reading this book, I was intrigued to find reference to John Calvin as being the "last pope," who moved the headquarters of the church to Geneva. Poor Calvin, the whipping boy for any one with RPE (i.e. Regretted Puritan Experience).

Anyhow, I have received chain e-mails, had concerned parents knock at my door, and read articles pro and con about this book. So, of course, I am reading the book, so I can form my own opinion.

As I begin the book, I've done a little research on the side. (www.hisdarkmaterials.org is an excellent resource.) What I'm finding is that Pullman, like Dan Brown of "The DaVinci Code" fame has an agenda. They both have an almost allergic aversion to anything that has to do with the established church. Pullman isn't the atheist that people claim him to be. Instead, he is more concerned about breaking down the dogma and doctrine of the orthodox church. In his view, the established church is authoritarian and preoccupied to the level of paranoia with holding on to power.

It is my opinion that Pullman is very religious in a sense. He doesn't deny the divine. In fact, he uses his powerful imagination to picture the divine in ways we have never imagined. The problem that people (i.e. orthodox Christians) have with Pullman is that his sense of the divine doesn't have a lot of use for the Apostles' Creed.

Anyhow, I'm reading. From where I am at right now, I can tell that this is a book I would read WITH my children, and not let them read it alone--not until they are older, anyway.

What it comes down to is this--If a book of fiction is enough to shake a person's faith, I would be inclined to ask how much faith there was in the first place. Related to that is that if the Christian faith cannot sustain a challenge from a work of fiction, it isn't much of a faith at all.

Time....

I have best intentions...

I could break out into a whole list of navel-gazing reasons why I don't keep up with this blog as often as I want (should?).

The simple fact is that I don't take the time. Apparently it's not a priority yet. Yet, there is a lot of other stuff that I am doing that I don't feel is worth my time. So, I am trying to rearrange a bit. Once a week. That's where my goal is set for now.

So, there it is. See you next time.

Labelmakers

These are some headlines I’ve been following in our state newspapers recently:

The football coach at one of our state universities wants to hire a chaplain for the team. A petition has been signed by several of the faculty of the school that challenges this hiring. While this position would be privately funded, some consider the presence of a chaplain—a Christian—inappropriate.[1]

Also, the “InnerChange Freedom Initiative,” a Christian-based prison treatment program operating at the Newton, IA Correction Facility is probably going to be discontinued. Statistics have shown that this program has reduced cases of prison violence and, more importantly, increased the percentages of former prisoners being successfully integrated into society as productive citizens. The program has been declared unconstitutional in court, claiming a conflict between the separation of church and state. While that ruling is still under appeal, our state government has passed a bill that removes funding from the program.[2]

When news like this is published, like me, you mourn the hostility and resistance to the Christian faith in the public life. Many find it easy to dismiss Christians as all being “right-wing” or “fundamentalist,” using those words as a label that when applied, makes the attempt to disqualify those people as too biased, too ignorant, too judgmental, or too…whatever criticism applies to a particular situation.

It makes my head and my heart hurt when others feel they can explain my faith away by giving it a label. Believers in Jesus Christ are more than labels. We have beliefs we hold as important—guided by God’s Word to hold. We have families, friendships, and communities we value and want to keep. By nature we want to have an environment that supports our beliefs and the relationships we hold to be important. Protecting those interests should be an understandable response, to do less would mean that whatever faith we profess doesn’t have enough value for us to defend it.

All that said, often many who claim faith in Christ have earned criticism. All too often, because of our sinfulness, we fail to reflect the will of the Creator. We can be hot-tempered, selfish, mean, sharp-tongued, judgmental, inconsistent, etc. The word, “hypocrite,” flies frequently and far too accurately toward us. We’re sinners. It’s too easy to forget that we’ve been called to a higher standard.

Scripture says that there will always be challenges to our faith—even persecution. Yet the Bible also holds us to a standard of faithfulness that calls through whatever challenges we have. There are many examples of this throughout the Bible. Since we are reading through Ephesians at this time, may we be challenged by considering these words from Ephesians 4:1-6:

“…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

A person who lives these words ends label making and starts label breaking.

---

[1] “ISU President Wants Input from Council” The DesMoines Register & Tribune, May 30, 2007

[2] “Religious Prison Program in Doubt” The DesMoines Register & Tribune, June 1, 2007

a loner

Just a quick note....

Just thinking about the murders at Virginia Tech. One thing I realize is how the English language cannot begin to explain what went on at that campus. The press is using words like "tragedy," "rampage," and "massacre." Those words even fall short when thinking about the fact that 32 of the 33 people who died began that day without a hint that it would be their last.

Another thing, and this bothers me, the press is busy labeling the student who committed the murders as a "loner." As if this somehow provides an explanation. I guess it is our nature to try to make sense out of what appears to be senseless. For me, right now, I am content with senseless. I don't want to have an explanation that provides a reason for someone to end so many lives.

Book Fast

The local pizza place has special menu for Lent. This is a curiosity for me that I will have to see (and maybe sample) for myself. As I have seen in practiced, Christians, most often those in the Roman Catholic faith, observe the fast by refraining from eating meat on Fridays. Interestingly, fish have been excluded from being categorized as “meat.” Therefore, this is why it is so common to see the local organizations sponsoring a fish fry or fish dinners during this season.

“What are you giving up for Lent?” More and more, that question is being asked by Christians from a variety of traditions. The discipline of fasting is applied to a certain aspect of daily life, not necessarily being food. Some turn the television or the radio off for the six weeks of Lent. I have heard of others abstaining from sweets or desserts. Lauren Winner, in her memoir, “Girl Meets God,” gave up books.

For some of us, giving up books doesn’t seem like a sacrifice. However, to Winner, reading is a central part of her life. By her count at that time in her life, she owned almost three thousand books, all crammed in her graduate student apartment. Just for comparison, I took a quick estimate of the books in my own study. By my count, I own one fifth of the books that Winner had, and many of the books on my shelf are in the “yet to read” category. Giving up reading is a sacrifice for Lauren Winner.

Winner talks about how she started her fast from reading nobly, proud that this was something that she could do. Later, temptation crept in. In her words, she “cheated.”

“I grab the book and I dig in. I read all night. I feel like the dieter, long deprived of anything tasty, who decides to devour a gallon of Breyer’s in one sitting.” (127)

For Winner, she learned that reading was an escape, as she says, “an always cure” to bring relief from whatever event or issue was troubling her. Without that escape she found herself spending more time in prayer. Giving something up for Lent led her to give more time to God.

As I think about this passage, I think of some words of Jesus that challenge me. First, I ask myself, what do I hold on to so tightly that it keeps me from following Christ? Matthew 8:18-22 comes to mind, especially the last two verses. Under the heading, “The Cost of Following Jesus,” one disciple pledges to follow Jesus, but only after he has buried his father. Jesus counters with these words, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

I also think of Matthew 6:16-18, which contains Jesus’ admonition on how to fast. To paraphrase, Jesus says to keep the fact that you are fasting to yourself. Fasting isn’t something you do to show others how “religious” you are. Fasting is something that you do for God.

From Lenten pizza, to giving up something for Lent, to Jesus’ words, let me close with a couple of thoughts to tie things together. Fasting or “giving something up for Lent” can be a worthwhile exercise. It helps us identify the things we give priority to that have little to do with the nurturing of our faith. The question we should ask ourselves when considering a Lenten fast of one type or another is, “What would we be slow to give up when we apply Jesus’ words, “Follow me,” to our own lives?

Finally, if some of us do decide to “give something up for Lent,” it must not be used as a badge to reveal a superior spirituality. Winner’s fast from books encouraged her to prayer. What would a fast do for us? More time in prayer and devotions with God? An increased sensitivity to loving those around us? During this season of Lent, may we consider our willingness to leave all behind and to follow Jesus.

Swamped

Kid's programs, sermons to write, weddings to officiate, and too many distractions. Like the sunset out my window... More to write later...