Just Saying...

The common thread of conversation this week is the weather, which certainly is not a surprise considering the -45 windchill.  The new take on the weather is how balmy (I use that term loosely) today feels to folks.  Since when did 8 degrees become balmy weather! 

I realize I sometimes make the same assertions about my faith life.  Just like people feeling stuck inside due to the weather, some of us feel stuck in our spiritual journeys.  We are not quite sure how to get outside of our box.  While not satisfying to stay inside all day, getting stuck in our faith life is at least familiar to us.  We know what to expect, even if God does not seem relevant or particularly close.  Likewise, I am hearing stories within the congregation -- including myself at times-- that everything is just fine. I say things like my spiritual life is just balmy, when in all reality I know it isn't.  I am so grateful to be a part of a couple small groups that help keep me honest.  In a very real way, my small groups -- Covenant Group and Companions-- help me to stay discontented and engaged.  I don't want to be satisfied with a balmy spiritual life which is nice, safe and predictable.  I'm thankful the Spirit pushes and prods me into leaving the warm confines of what is known and comfortable to enter into a world that is hurting and lost.

Check out the new listings of small groups and classes.  Stretch your spiritual life this month.

On the journey,
Alecia 

A Look Back to Frame the Discussion Forward

A friend recommended on Facebook to look at a blog from Sojourners dealing with the 14 things the Church needs to do in 2014. (http://sojo.net/blogs/2014/01/01/14-things-church-needs-do-2014/ )  It caught my attention and I thought I would post the first couple of questions:

1. Review what happened in 2013: What worked?  What didn’t? Where did we spend our money? How did we touch people’s lives?  What one word would describe 2013? Take some time and objectively look at what transpired in 2013.

2. Honestly answer the question “Why in the world would anyone want to come to this church?”: I believe that this is the biggest question that every church must ask itself. How one answers this question affects the ministry, outlook, and mission of the church. If you answer this question honestly, the answer might surprise you and scare you all at the same time.

I think these are great questions for leadership to look at for our next retreat, but I thought I would take an initial stab at them.  The simplest answer for what worked is the laity.  The laity, particularly leadership, deepened in discipleship in a way we have not experienced for awhile.  The digging into scripture, the inviting of the Holy Spirit and the stepping up in ministry changed us at a core level.   In addition, staff worked hard in their individual areas and we are seeing transformed lives because of the effort.  In 2013 in regards to what didn't work as well as I would have hoped,  I would say that Josh and I felt like we were running to keep up with the current and new ministries and folks.  At times that caused us to misstep or to not offer our best effort.  

We spent 2013 and will continue to work with aligning our resources -- money and staff.  This is an important piece.  We funded our budget, which includes ministries, mission, and apportionments.  The on-going work of aligning our resources with our mission is critical. This year both North Liberty and New Horizons were on the receiving end of grants, which helped immensely in missional work, such as the Pantry, ELL, the Latino emerging ministry and staffing.

How did we touch people's lives?  The easiest to bear witness to would be in the area of children and youth ministry.  Both areas are seeing lives transformed spiritually.  The Pantry numbers speak for themselves as this ministry continues to serve more and more people.  The emerging ministry with Latinos has grown to such a degree that we are seeing individuals out of our bilingual worship offering their own gifts in ministries.  Of course each time I try to conclude this section, I think of another aspect.  The last one I will mention in this blog is small groups.  We are seeing people deepen in their walk with Jesus.

The one word to describe us is three:  deepening as disciples.  That discussion, as well as the second question is for another time.
Peace my friends,
Alecia

Developing a Personal Mission Statement of Faith

In the past few weeks in worship we have talked about living out God's purpose in our individual lives, as well as our life together.  I believe a personal mission statement of faith is critical for engaging our life in God fully.  While there are a lot of templates for creating your mission statement, I found this one and adapted it for our purposes:

1. Ask God to be present.  Approach writing your vision statement with a prayerful heart.
2. Answer the following questions to help clarify your thinking, as well as listen to God:

• Do I feel God has a purpose for my life?
• In what ways has God been working in my life?
• What brings me joy or satisfaction?
• What is God challenging me to leave behind or are there any bad habits to break?
• What would I do with my time if I didn't need to work for an income?
• What would I do if money was no object?
• If my life ended now, would I have regrets?

    3.  To help focus on your gifts, answer the following questions:

• What do I know more than others know?
• What can I do better or could teach others to do?
• What do I love more than anything in terms of ministry or service?
• What are the gifts God has already given you?

   4.  Using your answers write about recurring themes they reveal in the following areas:
  spiritual growth, ministry opportunities, direction by the Holy Spirit, relationships and any other broad  categories that you wish to add.

   5.  Think about how you can use information from your past to shape the future.

   6.  Distill information in each category into one or two actionable statements.  For example under spiritual,
"I am deepening my relationship with Christ through scripture study and prayer" or "I am experiencing the joy of drawing others to Christ through love."   Write concrete statements that are based on your core values.

   7.  Now... in 1-3 sentences, write your mission statement from what you have learned from above.

I will share mine next week.  Happy visioning!

On the journey,
Alecia
 

Continuing in Disorientation

Apparently I am not the only one in disorientation!  On Sunday I spoke about about a framework for our spiritual journeys using Moses' life as the backdrop.  If you read last week's blog, you undoubtedly realize that I had already been looking at my life through the lens of disorientation.  For those of you that are wandering around the wilderness in disorientation, I say to you, Take heart.  The wilderness is never fun or inviting.  It is painful, humbling and useful.  There is a harshness about the wilderness that sharpens us.  If we were not fully awake in our lives, the wilderness of disorientation teaches us to pay attention to what is important.  Spending time in the wilderness is not only inevitable, but it is critical for spiritual pilgrims to begin to find the gift in the wilderness.

To those of you who have never left the orientation stage, I say to you, "Open your eyes.  In the busyness of life it is easy to not be fully present in any situation.  We confuse activity with spirituality.  Open your eyes.  It is easier to move into disorientation if you are seeking to be more like Jesus in the everyday.  Disorientation happens as life unfolds.  To be caught unaware can be terrifying as you seek to navigate a death, a pay cut, a divorce, an affair, a betrayal or any number of life events.  Being open to the movement of the Spirit is essential.

For those of you moving into reorientation, I say to you, "Take courage."   You will experience God in new ways.  Moving into reorientation offers a better opportunity to better live out God's purpose for each of us.  God has a purpose for each one of us.  When we live out our purpose, peoples' lives are changed.  The Kingdom of God is alive in North Liberty!  When I am living God's vision for my life, I sense the presence of the Lord.  I invite you to engage the Lord wherever you find yourself:  orientation, disorientation, or reorientation.

See you on the journey,
Alecia

Disorientation

This past year I have struggled to find my footing at various times.  I felt disoriented as I sought to find God in my new reality. There is a short book by Walter Brueggeman called, Spirituality of the Psalms, that has been most helpful for me shaping my faith journey over the last months.  Brueggeman wrote that our spiritual journeys are composed of three on-going movements:  orientation, disorientation and reorientation.    He wrote that folks on an intentional spiritual journey move between the three components throughout their lives. I was reminded of this helpful framework in my Companions in Christ small group.

With the Psalms as his backdrop, Brueggeman writes that scriptures of orientation provide the present reality.  This would involve our lived out practices and theology.  Orientation provides comfort in its stability.  Disorientation occurs when "our certainties about life seem seriously undermined, if not completely shattered" (Companions in Christ, p. 18).  Finally there is a point we move to reorientation.  Reorientation being the new meaning and focus points that guide our life and its practices.  I find this a helpful framework in which to explore my life and spiritual journey.

Currently I am moving out of disorientation to reorientation.  Disorientation can bring new meaning to life practices.  I am grateful for the journey.  Amidst the pain and growth, there is life.  I invite you to think about where you are in your spiritual journey.  Which movement are you in today:  orientation, disorientation or reorientation?  Take some time to reflect.

On the journey,
Alecia

Hero Worship

Worship is perhaps too strong of a word; however I have spent a lot of time outside of worship pondering the lives of the Old Testament heroes. Over and over again I am struck by the ordinary nature of their lives. Ordinary men and women who choose to have missional lives. Ordinary until he/she engages the mission of God. The last couple of weeks Daniel's uncompromising witness has caused me to look at how I spend my time... my energy. Maybe a better way to say it is, What gets my focus? It is easy to say that God is my primary focus. Easier to say than to live out. I am embarking on a small group experience this fall. Vicki Muller and I will be leading the Companions in Christ group starting in September. Initially I thought it would simply be good for me to do. After the series on Heroes, I know I need the weekly small group experience as much for me to experience one as to lead one. Who and what gets your time? This isn't a sell job for small group ministry. It is a strong encouragement to go deeper in your faith life. We make time for what is important in our lives. Think about it. On the Journey, Alecia

Dedication

If you have not had the opportunity to read on the Iowa United Methodist website about the dedication of the Pantry, then I invite you to go to the following link: www.iaumc.org/news/detail/1201. It was lovely to have the Bishop with us this past week. See you Sunday. On the journey, Alecia