The following are the words I spoke last Thursday (8/24) at my mother's memorial service, published here to further honor her and perhaps inspire someone else:
It has been said that there are two things a parent should give their child: one is roots and the other is wings. I consider myself to have been blessed with both of those things. My daddy, whom so many of you knew, definitely gave me roots—roots that went deep into the soil of human love and honesty. But it was my mother who taught me about wings. She did her best to facilitate activities in my life that reached beyond the mundane and transcended the norm. Daddy taught me cautious wisdom and “real life” while my mother taught me, as the poet said, to “slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of God.”
A couple of weeks ago, on the night when I realized that we were nearing the end of my mother’s time on the earth, I was too upset to cook anything for my family full of males, so we found ourselves in the local Long John Silver restaurant in Azle trying to decide which version of fine battered fish products to order. While I waited for my sons to bring me whatever it was I had decided upon, a song came on the in-store music system. The well of tears inside that I thought I had exhausted, at least for that day, suddenly sprung up again forcefully. The words washed over me like water, and gave me that strange sense of hope that only a song in the hands of God can do in a turbulent time. I thought then, sitting at that fast food table, that when this day came, I would share these words with you so that you, too, can experience them.
Before I share them, however, let me say, that I believe that every life has a prophetic message, a legacy. Every life makes a statement from heaven to those who have ears to hear it, for every person is created in the image of God and bears a unique package of his unfathomable character. We feel great loss since my mother is no longer with us, but it behooves us to hear the message her life is speaking and heed it. To truly honor her legacy, there must be a recommitment to the ideals she embraced, a recommitment that is waiting for each of us to embrace beyond the shadows of tears and grief—a commission that will also comfort us.
I found both comfort and a commission from heaven in the words of a pop song. If Paul in the New Testament can preach the gospel using the words of pagan poets in Athens, certainly I can draw inspiration from the pens and guitars of the Eagles in the year 2006. The words I “heard” not just with my ears, but with my heart in Long John Silver that night are these:
There's a hole in the world tonight.There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.There's a hole in the world tonight….Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.
We who loved Chloe Clark feel the hold in the world—we couldn’t help but feel it. But Chloe was a person who spent her life stopping up the holes in the world. She taught students in the public schools who were victims of broken homes and broken dreams and one by one, and with more patience than I will ever have, she stopped up the holes in their world. We live in a day when we at times hear of teachers who physically hurt their students, but I remember my mother being the actual recipient of kicks and physical actions of anger from the students she taught in the special ed classes which were her specialty. Still, she worked to stop up the holes in their worlds.
She gave to her church and her family and befriended many people throughout her life. She was like a bridge over troubled water to so many and I am truly thankful for the many ways she laid her life down for me, ways which are too numerous to recount here today. I even remember that many of my high school friends would come over to my house, I thought, to hang out with me, but ended up in long conversations with my mother, where she was helping to stop some of the holes in their world.
I remember one instance—now the details are fuzzy because I was pretty young—when she was summoned to the Hearn household to help stop up a small hole. I wasn’t allowed into the garage where the talks occurred, but it seemed that a certain older Hearn boy did not want to comply with the shorter hair requirement that was being enforced upon him. I don’t know what my mother said, but she seemed to find a way to plug the hole of teenage angst that was draining his motivation. (My apologies to Jon if I have remembered that incorrectly—the truth is she loved your long hair anyway.)
In Acts chapter 1, we read the account of the amazed disciples who had just seen Jesus taken up into heaven. Apparently, they were standing, transfixed and perplexed and perhaps feeling some déjà vu. Can you imagine it: They had grieved over the loss of the Master on the cross, only to discover that he was not dead, but still living. They had celebrated the resurrection and reveled in his presence. But now, just as they were settling into comfort, he was leaving them again—this time in a cloud of glory. Perhaps they felt the hole in their world reopening.
At that moment, an angel was dispatched to them and arrived to say, “Why do you stand here gazing?” Seems like a silly question: they are gazing at the point of their loss. But the angel, having diverted their eyes from their loss, redirects them to the future, promising that this is not the end of their contact with Jesus. In so doing, he infers that it is time for each of them to get on with the business that Jesus left behind: the business of bringing the Kingdom of God to earth! In other words, empowered by Jesus’ Spirit, which had not left the earth, it was time for the disciples to live out the legacy Jesus had left with them. “Don’t stand and gaze at heaven: God has that bit totally under control—it is earth that need you now!” the angel seemed to be saying. On earth, there are holes to be plugged and Jesus will fill the emptiness inside you with the intimacy of his presence and empower you to go forth and be a change-agent.
Jesus plugged ALL the holes in the world, but he sends us forth to live that out. Only because of his action on the cross can we, like those disciples, live a life that stops up the holes in the world. But, because of the cross, we can be certain that every hole has its plug!
My mother’s life commissions us to go forth and plug the holes in the world that we encounter. This is how we honor her legacy. This is how we receive her as a gift from heaven. Let your grief be turned to empowerment and after you have stood and looked to heaven a while, turn and find someone to help on earth and live your life to see the Kingdom of God manifested. There is nothing better to live for and no comfort like being a part of the invisible Kingdom and being at complete peace with the Creator and his good purposes for every life.
Again I say boldly, in honor of my mother: There’s a hole in the world tonight…don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Wait and see...
After hosting Rich Lush from Arun Community Church (Littlehampton, England) for two weeks here with us in Azle, Texas, I find myself once again thinking about the complementary nature of the British and American psyches, especially when it comes to the Kingdom of God. If you know Rich and you read his blog, you will no doubt have read the ridiculously clueless comments that he logged from young Americans during his visit. ("You play the same guitar chords we do!"spoken with amazement, and, "Do you have sandwiches in England?" Other comments were too painful for me to type.) I ache over our American self-referencing world-view, but still it makes my point stronger: We need to link up with our fellow English-speakers (okay the original English-speakers) for the sake of gaining a broader view of the Kingdom mindset, which I believe is composed of the redemptive "bests"of every national consciousness! While the American psyche is all about (and pardon this Blue Collar Comedy tour phrase), "Gettin' 'er done," Britain seems timelessly patient, refusing to rush headlong into a mess.
In America, we know how to throw a party and raise our voice. We jump in, get wet, promote and proclaim what we feel God is doing, usually failing to check any manual on cultural relevance to the rest of the world. There are advantages to this approach, for many a dream from heaven has been sacrificed on the altar of over-analysis. It is a good thing to run with the vision and obey the command without a "plan B" and yet...perhaps this is just one part of the Kingdom picture! Perhaps the British church has a complementary strength that would supply the balancing value: the left brain to our right; the stability to our movement; the yin to our yang (oops--eastern metaphor disallowed...!)!
Recently a British friend of mine had a "big idea" involving something in his nation, which he ran by me. When it didn't seem to work out, I felt impressed to tell him to pursue the relationships involved anyway, and I said to him, "You never know what will emerge." At that moment, I realized that Britishness would help him do the Kingdom thing! As I continued to wax philosophical to my friend (unsolicited, but sincere), I wrote to him in an e-mail: "In the British church, things often arise and emerge slowly through the web of caution and hesitance, but when they do emerge, they are as strong and lasting as Stonehenge... Seeds get planted deeply and seem completely dormant, but no one seems to forget them, and they are nurtured by the patience that stems from a national consciousness that has endured invaders, wars, gain and losses, and survived--all from a tiny island that should never have been (when tallying its dimensions) a world power!"
Britain reminds me of Gamaliel in Acts 5, who basically infused into the Sanhedrin a "wait and see" attitude, saying, "If this is not God, it will die out and if it is God, we cannot stop it." That is admirable, especially as we Americans seem to dive into every spiritual pool without checking the temperature first, quite often making quite a mess. That is also vital in a day when watching to see what is emerging is probably the primary need for spiritual leadership! More than ever before, those of us who have a tendency to drive the boat without permission must learn to wait on the energies and strategies of the Kingdom. We must "let things arise" and form in our vision, rather than rushing out and simply implementing a plan engineered by human reason!
I learned this truth about Britain where every truth should be learned: in the context of relationships. More than once in my early interactions with British church leaders, I thought I had failed to make a connection. I would share in glowing terms with unbridled passion my overwhelming enthusiasm for the great heights we could rise to together, only to receive cordial e-mails in return! I would feel Kingdom destiny forming between our church and British churches and propose that we together do mighty exploits for God, sure that I was seeing the plan from heaven, only to be told we could discuss some of it on our next visit over a curry! And my friend Andy Au was the most memorable of these lessons. When I declared, "You must come to America," he basically said, "I'll think about it if you demonstrate your seriousness by following up on this in the months to come, but I will not pursue it myself."
What Andy and the curry-eaters and the polite e-mailers knew (and I was beginning to learn)was that relationships for the Kingdom's sake must emerge rather than be engineered. They must be truly powered by the energies of heaven, not mere human (American or British) enthusiasm! My British friends knew that the purposes of God, like their island and its people, would ulimately survive and thrive through soul-possessing patience and confidence in the Desire of Nations, who works all things after the counsel of his will!
We American Christians are quite proud (and I mean that in the best sense) of the seeds of Christianity in our nation. But how deeply are Kingdom seeds buried in the British consciousness! Christianity has been a shaping factor in every stage of development of Britain's long history. Where there were abuses and diversions from the true faith, a correcting voice always arose to purge the message and refuel the fires of holiness. Where is Christianity today in Britain? Is it in crisis? I believe not: I believe Christianity is buried in the ground of Britain deeper than any iron age ruin. Britain's great strength of iron-willed patience will pay off as the seeds of ancient faith begin to germinate throughout the land, as I believe they are about to do.
My friend Noel Richards illustrates my point. This July 15th, he will gather the youth of the nations in Olympic Stadium in Berlin for an unprecedented day of worship and prayer. It will be a history-making event involving worshippers from literally all over the globe. It will be unforgettable and impossible to ignore. But the story that Noel will tell in years to come will include the patient pursuit of a dream that seemed easier to abandon than carry full-term. The vision for the stadiums of the world (Wembley first, now Berlin) was planted in him decades ago and he has endured roadblocks and postponements with the confidence of one who believes in actualizing emergent realities! God help us all take a lesson from Noel and carry all of our God-dreams full-term!
Whatever you might have thought was "over"...be a bit British about it and wait and see....This Kingdom is always on the move and you never know what might emerge tomorrow!!! I'll stop now before I veer off into a full salute to the motherland, but I won't apologize for the passion about the bridge across the pond!
In America, we know how to throw a party and raise our voice. We jump in, get wet, promote and proclaim what we feel God is doing, usually failing to check any manual on cultural relevance to the rest of the world. There are advantages to this approach, for many a dream from heaven has been sacrificed on the altar of over-analysis. It is a good thing to run with the vision and obey the command without a "plan B" and yet...perhaps this is just one part of the Kingdom picture! Perhaps the British church has a complementary strength that would supply the balancing value: the left brain to our right; the stability to our movement; the yin to our yang (oops--eastern metaphor disallowed...!)!
Recently a British friend of mine had a "big idea" involving something in his nation, which he ran by me. When it didn't seem to work out, I felt impressed to tell him to pursue the relationships involved anyway, and I said to him, "You never know what will emerge." At that moment, I realized that Britishness would help him do the Kingdom thing! As I continued to wax philosophical to my friend (unsolicited, but sincere), I wrote to him in an e-mail: "In the British church, things often arise and emerge slowly through the web of caution and hesitance, but when they do emerge, they are as strong and lasting as Stonehenge... Seeds get planted deeply and seem completely dormant, but no one seems to forget them, and they are nurtured by the patience that stems from a national consciousness that has endured invaders, wars, gain and losses, and survived--all from a tiny island that should never have been (when tallying its dimensions) a world power!"
Britain reminds me of Gamaliel in Acts 5, who basically infused into the Sanhedrin a "wait and see" attitude, saying, "If this is not God, it will die out and if it is God, we cannot stop it." That is admirable, especially as we Americans seem to dive into every spiritual pool without checking the temperature first, quite often making quite a mess. That is also vital in a day when watching to see what is emerging is probably the primary need for spiritual leadership! More than ever before, those of us who have a tendency to drive the boat without permission must learn to wait on the energies and strategies of the Kingdom. We must "let things arise" and form in our vision, rather than rushing out and simply implementing a plan engineered by human reason!
I learned this truth about Britain where every truth should be learned: in the context of relationships. More than once in my early interactions with British church leaders, I thought I had failed to make a connection. I would share in glowing terms with unbridled passion my overwhelming enthusiasm for the great heights we could rise to together, only to receive cordial e-mails in return! I would feel Kingdom destiny forming between our church and British churches and propose that we together do mighty exploits for God, sure that I was seeing the plan from heaven, only to be told we could discuss some of it on our next visit over a curry! And my friend Andy Au was the most memorable of these lessons. When I declared, "You must come to America," he basically said, "I'll think about it if you demonstrate your seriousness by following up on this in the months to come, but I will not pursue it myself."
What Andy and the curry-eaters and the polite e-mailers knew (and I was beginning to learn)was that relationships for the Kingdom's sake must emerge rather than be engineered. They must be truly powered by the energies of heaven, not mere human (American or British) enthusiasm! My British friends knew that the purposes of God, like their island and its people, would ulimately survive and thrive through soul-possessing patience and confidence in the Desire of Nations, who works all things after the counsel of his will!
We American Christians are quite proud (and I mean that in the best sense) of the seeds of Christianity in our nation. But how deeply are Kingdom seeds buried in the British consciousness! Christianity has been a shaping factor in every stage of development of Britain's long history. Where there were abuses and diversions from the true faith, a correcting voice always arose to purge the message and refuel the fires of holiness. Where is Christianity today in Britain? Is it in crisis? I believe not: I believe Christianity is buried in the ground of Britain deeper than any iron age ruin. Britain's great strength of iron-willed patience will pay off as the seeds of ancient faith begin to germinate throughout the land, as I believe they are about to do.
My friend Noel Richards illustrates my point. This July 15th, he will gather the youth of the nations in Olympic Stadium in Berlin for an unprecedented day of worship and prayer. It will be a history-making event involving worshippers from literally all over the globe. It will be unforgettable and impossible to ignore. But the story that Noel will tell in years to come will include the patient pursuit of a dream that seemed easier to abandon than carry full-term. The vision for the stadiums of the world (Wembley first, now Berlin) was planted in him decades ago and he has endured roadblocks and postponements with the confidence of one who believes in actualizing emergent realities! God help us all take a lesson from Noel and carry all of our God-dreams full-term!
Whatever you might have thought was "over"...be a bit British about it and wait and see....This Kingdom is always on the move and you never know what might emerge tomorrow!!! I'll stop now before I veer off into a full salute to the motherland, but I won't apologize for the passion about the bridge across the pond!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Make the world stretch...
The small group I lead on Wednesday nights was straggling in slowly to our little room at the church and something in my leadership rhythm just won't let me start until there is a "quorum". My hesistance to delve into our topic ("What is True Spritiuality?") only to end up repeating a personalized version of my oh-so-powerful introduction for each new arrival forced me to do that thing I am really supposed to do anyway as a small group leader: begin by letting the members each share what is on their heart. Monica, my long-time friend who has just gone back to nursing school after years of intense homemaking and motherhood, had had a particulary challenging day. As she shared her story, she struck a chord in me that is still reverberating. I'll be going on about this one for a while, I'm sure!
Monica's nursing instructor had assigned a typical group project regarding the care of a patient. Now Monica is a conscientious, bright and diligent woman and it seems that the group of younger classmates to which she was assigned had not pondered their life options or commitment to education--and particularly their tasks in this project--with the same degree of seriousness Monica had. After sitting through the less than stellar performance by her group mates, it was Monica's turn to present. She was so overwhelmed with the need to compensate, explain gaps and fill in holes (years of motherhood may have entered into this) that she, rather than focusing on the patient in question, began every sentence with "I felt..." or "I thought..." As she finished her words, she said that she realized that she had used the words, "I, me or my," probably 25 times in a presenation that should have been done in clinical third-person! She had a momentary opportunity to fall into despair, but instead, she said she drew a breath as she sat down and said to herself, "Oh well, the world with just have to stretch to accommodate me today!"
When Monica shared her coping mechanism, I knew I was hearing greatness. If Joseph Campbell had been in my small group, I felt certain he would have recorded Monica's words for a list entitled: "Things All Heroes Must Learn to Say," for, at one strategic point or another, every hero must be willing to make the world stretch to fit them! I have no idea what grade Monica received on the presenation, but I believe the grading scale of life stretched for her at the moment she made that inner determination! Monica had realized that, though it is futile to demand that the world stretch, or even force the world to stretch, there is still merit in singing along with Tom Petty: she could quietly "stand her ground," refusing to "back down" in terms of how she viewed herself.
God makes us the way we are and we, so often, spend so much time trying to re-shape ourselves to accommodate the spaces left for us by people trying to find room for themselves! Rather than dare ask someone to adjust their position, we bend ourselves into unrecognizable forms. We think we are being flexible, and sometimes this is required, but what happens after a while is that accommodating other people becomes a habit and we wonder where the Eric Liddle Chariots of Fire stuff ("When I run I feel His pleasure...") went! When the joy of presenting yourself to God in living worship has waned, it might be time to decide that the world needs to stretch to fit you! You might need to use some "I, me, and my" once again, rather than the clincial third person expression that seem less self-centered!
Like a fine mist, expectations, opinions and scruples settle in on us, dampening the joy of expression. Especially in the church world, Josephs don't hold on easily to their amazing technicolor dreamcoats! There are plenty of self-referenced brothers ready to rip the garments of individuality straight off of us. But if anyone ever made the world stretch to fit him, it was Joseph. He ultimately stood his inner ground and made all Egypt--and the known world as well as the future who would read about him--stretch to fit him!
It is easy, even for the fieriest of temperaments (and I count myself in that group), to feel stretched. Life, circumstances and even God's challenges to us often make us feel that if grace doesn't reinforce us, we will certainly meet the fate of an overtaxed rubber band! Let us not, however, become so addicted to the feelings of powerlessness that fail to remember that this is a two-way street. In God's economy, all things are reciprocal. We are stretched by relationships and requirements, but sometimes we are the stretching force on others as well.
We live in a time when God is wanting to stretch his church. We actually live in a reformation. More power to you who need to pioneer new ways to express your worship, both in and outside the church doors and both with and without the overt identification of your craft as worship! You--you army of Joseph's out there who sometimes feel more like you have landed in Egypt than home--you are the ones who will declare, "I feel...; I think...; and I see..." and the world will be a better place for it. God asked Jeremiah more than once, "What do you see?" and Jeremiah's answers played right into God's plan to make Israel stretch.
When I was a teenage hippie (back in the day), we all had posters of the cult credo Desiderata which began, "Go placidly amid the noise and haste..."hanging next to our black light posters. I remember the words of that poem as an island of peace in the midst of my existential turmoil--long before my heart found the real peace that is Jesus. Looking back now, I can see that in many ways the Desiderata (Latin for "things desired") painted a landscape--much like the one the Moody Blues sang about in "Question"(between the silence of morning and the crashing of the sea, was it?), which was frequently playing on the stereo just under the poster. It was a spiritual landscape where one could simply "be" without anxiety over performance or worry over what is "acceptable". It was a vista of grace and freedom--a freedom so secure it need not prove itself in the energies of rebellion. I now know that the promised land lies only behind the Savior who calls Himself "the Door". It is the Narnia of the Kingdom where "I" "me" and "my" exist without selfishness, and express without frowns of disapproval. I realize now that only in Christ do I have access to my "right to be here" and the knowledge that "the universe is unfolding as it should" for me. But even so, what I hear the Desiderata saying is "When faced with the pressure to mold yourself around someone else's laws or needs, decide instead to simply make the world stretch to fit you." Jesus will make room for you as you do, for that's what easy yokes and light burdens are all about...Make your world stretch to fit you.
Monica's nursing instructor had assigned a typical group project regarding the care of a patient. Now Monica is a conscientious, bright and diligent woman and it seems that the group of younger classmates to which she was assigned had not pondered their life options or commitment to education--and particularly their tasks in this project--with the same degree of seriousness Monica had. After sitting through the less than stellar performance by her group mates, it was Monica's turn to present. She was so overwhelmed with the need to compensate, explain gaps and fill in holes (years of motherhood may have entered into this) that she, rather than focusing on the patient in question, began every sentence with "I felt..." or "I thought..." As she finished her words, she said that she realized that she had used the words, "I, me or my," probably 25 times in a presenation that should have been done in clinical third-person! She had a momentary opportunity to fall into despair, but instead, she said she drew a breath as she sat down and said to herself, "Oh well, the world with just have to stretch to accommodate me today!"
When Monica shared her coping mechanism, I knew I was hearing greatness. If Joseph Campbell had been in my small group, I felt certain he would have recorded Monica's words for a list entitled: "Things All Heroes Must Learn to Say," for, at one strategic point or another, every hero must be willing to make the world stretch to fit them! I have no idea what grade Monica received on the presenation, but I believe the grading scale of life stretched for her at the moment she made that inner determination! Monica had realized that, though it is futile to demand that the world stretch, or even force the world to stretch, there is still merit in singing along with Tom Petty: she could quietly "stand her ground," refusing to "back down" in terms of how she viewed herself.
God makes us the way we are and we, so often, spend so much time trying to re-shape ourselves to accommodate the spaces left for us by people trying to find room for themselves! Rather than dare ask someone to adjust their position, we bend ourselves into unrecognizable forms. We think we are being flexible, and sometimes this is required, but what happens after a while is that accommodating other people becomes a habit and we wonder where the Eric Liddle Chariots of Fire stuff ("When I run I feel His pleasure...") went! When the joy of presenting yourself to God in living worship has waned, it might be time to decide that the world needs to stretch to fit you! You might need to use some "I, me, and my" once again, rather than the clincial third person expression that seem less self-centered!
Like a fine mist, expectations, opinions and scruples settle in on us, dampening the joy of expression. Especially in the church world, Josephs don't hold on easily to their amazing technicolor dreamcoats! There are plenty of self-referenced brothers ready to rip the garments of individuality straight off of us. But if anyone ever made the world stretch to fit him, it was Joseph. He ultimately stood his inner ground and made all Egypt--and the known world as well as the future who would read about him--stretch to fit him!
It is easy, even for the fieriest of temperaments (and I count myself in that group), to feel stretched. Life, circumstances and even God's challenges to us often make us feel that if grace doesn't reinforce us, we will certainly meet the fate of an overtaxed rubber band! Let us not, however, become so addicted to the feelings of powerlessness that fail to remember that this is a two-way street. In God's economy, all things are reciprocal. We are stretched by relationships and requirements, but sometimes we are the stretching force on others as well.
We live in a time when God is wanting to stretch his church. We actually live in a reformation. More power to you who need to pioneer new ways to express your worship, both in and outside the church doors and both with and without the overt identification of your craft as worship! You--you army of Joseph's out there who sometimes feel more like you have landed in Egypt than home--you are the ones who will declare, "I feel...; I think...; and I see..." and the world will be a better place for it. God asked Jeremiah more than once, "What do you see?" and Jeremiah's answers played right into God's plan to make Israel stretch.
When I was a teenage hippie (back in the day), we all had posters of the cult credo Desiderata which began, "Go placidly amid the noise and haste..."hanging next to our black light posters. I remember the words of that poem as an island of peace in the midst of my existential turmoil--long before my heart found the real peace that is Jesus. Looking back now, I can see that in many ways the Desiderata (Latin for "things desired") painted a landscape--much like the one the Moody Blues sang about in "Question"(between the silence of morning and the crashing of the sea, was it?), which was frequently playing on the stereo just under the poster. It was a spiritual landscape where one could simply "be" without anxiety over performance or worry over what is "acceptable". It was a vista of grace and freedom--a freedom so secure it need not prove itself in the energies of rebellion. I now know that the promised land lies only behind the Savior who calls Himself "the Door". It is the Narnia of the Kingdom where "I" "me" and "my" exist without selfishness, and express without frowns of disapproval. I realize now that only in Christ do I have access to my "right to be here" and the knowledge that "the universe is unfolding as it should" for me. But even so, what I hear the Desiderata saying is "When faced with the pressure to mold yourself around someone else's laws or needs, decide instead to simply make the world stretch to fit you." Jesus will make room for you as you do, for that's what easy yokes and light burdens are all about...Make your world stretch to fit you.
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