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

National Prayer Service

If you did not have an opportunity to tune into the National Prayer Service this morning, I invite you to read the compelling sermon delivered by the Rev. Adam Hamilton. Hamilton is the pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. He is a United Methodist pastor and prolific author. The sermon is not long, but will inspire you beyond the reading. Go to the www.unitedmethodistreporter.com . Peace my friends, Alecia

Dear friends, As you may know, I will be out of the office from January 7th- March 1st on medical leave. During my absence the church is well-covered. Director of Family Ministries, Josh Rath, will serve in the day to day pastoral functions. In addition, Sue Meade, a retired UM pastor, is available as well. Stephen Ministers are available to listen and serve. Bev Byram, the church office administrator, is able to handle daily operations. Because we are part of a connectional system as United Methodists, the Iowa City area pastors are open to assisting in whatever ways as needed. Rev. Dr. Jill Sanders will serve as celebrant for communion on February 3. On Sunday mornings, you will see a variety of familiar faces filling new roles in preaching and leading. I am excited to hear what each one has to teach us. I will take advantage of the DVD recordings of the services coming out of our Audio/Visual team! This is not a time to miss. God’s Spirit is moving powerfully among the leadership and the body in the church. This will become more and more evident as the year progresses. One of my favorite quotes comes from Sister Pat Farrell in her address, "Navigating the Shifts":

Nor is there reason to be fearful of the cataclysmic movements of change swirling around us. We only need to recognize the movement, step into the flow, and be carried by it. Indeed, all creation is groaning in one great act of giving birth. The Spirit of God still hovers over the chaos.

In seasons of great change or when I feel afraid, I have found it challenging, as well as comforting to step into the waters of change. There is movement within this church body. The Spirit of God is urging us to follow God in radical ways. In my own life, at times it feels that the waters might overtake me. Each time I come back to God who “still hovers over the chaos.” Changes are coming. Take heart. This is the best place to be. I covet your prayers for my two surgeries. The first one is on January 8th, which is a change from my original date. The longer surgery is on the 24th. I will pray for you during my absence. On the journey, Alecia