Quaker Wisdom for Today

"The first gleam of light, 'the first cold light of morning' which gave promise of day with its noontide glories, dawned on me one day at meeting, when I had been meditating on my state in great depression. I seemed to hear the words articulated in my spirit, 'Live up to the light thou hast, and more will be granted thee.' Then I believed that God speaks to man by His Spirit. I strove to lead a more Christian life, in unison with what I knew to be right, and looked for brighter days, not forgetting the blessings that are granted to prayer."

--Caroline Fox, 1841

Quaker Wisdom for Today

“Oh Lord, may I be directed what to do and what to leave undone”

-- Elizabeth Fry

Taste and See -- Days 17-18

Anticipation... that's been the taste the past few days. I know that's not a *real* taste, but still... Beth and I will be leading our first Art of Faith workshop on Saturday and I admit I have been thinking/dreaming/wondering all about how it's going to go. It's been an almost palpable taste.

Sort of like when we'd crank homemade ice cream in backyard. I couldn't taste it while it was being cranked ... except I sortof could. The tang of the salt, the clear water of the melting ice, the smell of the mixture in the canister all combined to create the sense of the taste that is to come.

And that's what I'm experiencing regarding Saturday's workshop -- tasting it as if it had turned out well. That all the ingredients had come together perfectly. Which, God willing, it will.

Which is part of the "whole deal" -- God's will. Beth and I are leading this event because we felt led to do so... that this was something that God wanted us to do. So that taste is also in my mouth -- an anticipated satisfaction for having tasted the Lord's will and found it good.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

"The Inner Light does not lead men to do that which is right in their own eyes, but that which is right in God's eyes. As the Light is One, so its teaching is ultimately (though not superficially) harmonious. In actual experience, it is not found that souls truly looking to the Inner Light as their authority will break away from each other in anarchy."

-- Ellen S Bosanquet, 1927

Quaker Wisdom for Today

"And we are not for Names, nor Men, nor Titles of Government, nor are we for this Party, nor against the other, because of its Name and Pretence; but we are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom, that these may be exalted in our Nation; and that Goodness, Righteousness, Meekness, Temperance, Peace and Unity with God, and one with another, that these things may abound, and be brought forth abundantly: such a Government are we seeking and waiting for, wherein Truth and Righteousness, Mercy and Justice, Unity and Love, and all the Fruits of Holiness may abound..."

-- Edward Burrough, 1659

Taste and See -- Days 15 and 16

The taste that strikes me the most these past two days is ice cream. Rich, creamy ice cream. Well, actually, not so rich and creamy. Fat free. And no-sugar added, too. Not much like real ice cream after all. While eating it -- the diabetic's attempt at dessert -- I was reminded of a Young Friends gathering at our home in Muncie. It was shortly after I had been diagnosed as a diabetic and was still pining for the real stuff -- but had almost forgotten what it tasted like.

I was in charge of scooping the ice cream into cones and dishes -- good job for me, I guess, since I wouldn't be tempted to skimp on servings in order to hold back ice cream for myself. When the last of the kids and their leaders was served, I gathered up my scoops and headed back indoors. On the way, the one of the scoops started to drip, so I reached my tongue out to catch the drip before it hit the carpet. And was reawakened to just how good real ice cream tasted. It was sooooo gooood.

As I remembered that tonight, I began thinking of the almost real taste of the "ice cream" I eat. A pale imitation. And it set me to wondering how often I settled for a pale imitation in my spiritual life, too. A "lite" portion of God, thank you very much, will suit me just fine -- or will it? Not really. My soul hungers for a taste of the real -- but I get caught up in the business of life and settle for less.

Of course, bodily-speaking, real ice cream could do me in, sending my blood sugar into orbit. And, perhaps, real spirituality would do the same for soul -- but I think it's time to take that chance.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

[on Nature] ... for how could men find the confidence to abuse it, while they should see the great Creator stare them in the face, in all, and every part thereof.

-- William Penn, Reflections and Maxims

Quaker Wisdom for Today

"The sanctity of labour means... that men should come to see in the very work itself something that is of value because it is part of the whole attitude to life which gives the universe its value. Work can never for all people be done 'for the fun of it' nor 'for the love of it' if by love is meant liking, pleasure, delight. But all men can work for the love of God, and take their 'reward' not as reward at all, but as the means to a life that is full of love and service and joy in work and play."

-- Harold Loukes, 1954

Taste and See -- Days 12-14

Celebration. That's been the predominate tastes of the past three days. That's because Nancy, my sisters (Kathleen, Linda, and Julie) have been getting reading to celebrate our parents 60th anniversary.

Yep, 60 years. Together. Every day one of perfect bliss. Okay, perhaps not perfect bliss (with a kid like me, how could it be bliss?). But still togetherness. So, since it's been a whirlwind of activity, the taste of celebration (primarily for Nancy and me) has been fast food meals while on the road, lots of cake (Nancy baked the cakes for the reception), veggie and cheese trays from the caterer, a complimentary pizza from Josie's (in Columbus, OH -- hand delivered by the manager. Also one of my dad's nicknames for my mother -- Josie), and a Sunday brunch at Salvi's to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday.

And then, this evening, for our Friends in Fellowship worship group, the taste was of celebration, too -- for our after gathering repast was left-overs from the great feasts in Columbus, Ohio. Fitting, I think, that food/taste from our family gathering should be the closing tastes of worship this evening. The family of God -- well, 10 of us anyway -- gathered on the farm for quiet worship and sharing and food.

A blessed weekend, indeed. It tasted good.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

To be "made perfect in love" is a high state of Christian excellence, and not attainable but by the Love and sacrifice of selfish passions. No degree of resentment can consist with this state. Some persons are apt to profess that they can forgive those whom they suppose to have injured them, when such are brought to know and acknowledge their fault. But that is little else than a disguised pride, seeking for superiority. The love which Christ commanded to his Church goes further than that. "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you."

-- London Yearly Meeting, 1806

Taste and See -- Day 11

The taste of Day 11 was hamburger. A bacon-sharp cheddar cheese hamburger. With french fries loaded up with salt. Yikes! Talk about eating just what the doctor didn't order! To make it healthier, I loaded up veggies -- lettuce, onions, pickles, and tomatoes. And had a diet IBC Root Beer.

Yeah, as if they would cancel out the grease and sodium and fat.

Still, it was delicious. Yummy, indeed. I'd forgotten how good a "real" hamburger tasted as compared to some slapped together thing from a fast food place. I savored it. Not even feeling guilty.

Now unlike my rabbi friend (aka my little brother) Aaron, I don't keep kosher. Well, not as Jews understand it. I do, though, keep a kind of "diabetic kosher" -- a list of foods that are okay for me to partake of and a list that ain't.

As I understand kosher -- and Aaron gave me some really long discourse on it that had me sooo confused by the end that I'm sure I'll get this wrong -- the point of kosher is to make sure you eat food that blesses your body. Which is what my "diabetic kosher" diet plan does.

But, sometimes, every now and then, occasionally, sometimes, I just need a taste o'somethin' that just blesses my taste buds. And so by having the big hamburger and load of fries, my taste buds found themselves blessed yesterday. Mightily.

And then I went back to keeping diabetic kosher.

As I reflected on this breaking of diabetic kosher and its spiritual corollary, I decided it wasn't about yielding to temptation. That would be a good post probably, but one I dont' really want to get into. Confession may be good for the soul, but public confession of all my yieldings to temptation would not be good for my spirit. Instead, I began to think of Paul's injunction in 1 Corinthians 10 that "'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is beneficial." I need to always keep, spiritually and physically that question before me -- "Is it beneficial?" Will it bless my body and my soul?

-- Brent

PS In case my good doctor reads this, I did not eat the entire hamburger and I did leave 1/2 of the fries!

Quaker Wisdom for Today

"Seek on in patience and in hope. Be earnest in prayer. Do not fall back into selfish indifference, but do whatever thou canst truthfully do, for the help, socially and spiritually, of those around thee. Take comfort from the thought that others have passed through as great a strift, and have come forth into peace and happy trustfulness. If thy soul be walking but in twilight, look towards that quarter of the sky from which light seems to be dawning....Thou wilt yet hear His words as a personal message to thy soul, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'"

—London Yearly Meeting, 1893

Taste and See -- Day 10

Duck. That's what I had for dinner. Now I must confess, that in spite of what I wrote in my earlier blog, I did not go buy and fix duck for myself. I forgot I had errands to run tonight -- but when I remembered that, I also remembered that those same errands would take me close to one of my favorite eateries. Well, sorta close. Well, within five miles or so.

So off to Zydeco's I went. There was the usual understated greeting by Deb and the warmth and civility of her son Terry, who was waiting tables that even. Deb told me that Carter had prepared duck tonight. Yum. I love duck. And I love Carter's food -- so I knew I was in for a treat.

Indeed, duck over penne pasta with all sorts of other goodies. And Deb threw in a glass of organic vino (very healthy!). I was alone, so I pulled out the new Updike collection of short stories and had a very, very, very nice meal.

Then I remembered I was supposed to be keeping a taste journal. Yikes. So, being the Bible scholar I am, I turned to my handy dandy Bible concordance and looked up the word, "Duck." Which does not appear anywhere in the Christian Bible. Or the Hebrew Bible. I haven't checked the Book of Mormon or any other scriptures, yet.

Which did, oddly enough, remind me that while the Bible is a good rule for life, and profitable for instruction, and the stories of God's interactions with God's people, that it is not all inclusive -- either in its proscriptions for life or against sin. Because, if it were, Carter's duck over penne might have at least some reference therein.

The duck reminded me that God has blessed us in ways that are not spelled out in scripture -- and for that I can be thankful. I don't find ice cream there (sugar free or not), pie, steak, or any number of other tasty foods. Now, were I a literalist, I could say that means that God does not want me to enjoy these things. But since I am not, I see them all as part of the wonders He created and pronounced good.

As Genesis reports, "And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat ..."

I'll take the duck, please. ;-)

-- Brent

Taste and See -- Days 8 & 9

I'm eating like a bachelor again. A diabetic bachelor, to be sure, but a bachelor nonetheless. More like my single days -- eating alone (mostly) and rummaging around the house to figure out what's quick and easy to fix. Nancy's off watching grandkids (teenagers) for four more days, so ...

The meal quality -- and tastes thereof -- have been erratic. The morning oatmeal is consistently inconsistent. I must be the only person who can ruin microwaved oatmeal. Even the cats are avoiding the dregs I set out for them. Lunch has generally been the best meal of the day, taste-wise, as the office is set in the midst of a great restaurant district.

But the evening meals are a whole 'nother story. The past two days have reillustrated for me why "real" food is better than fast food. Monday night was -- in true single guy fashion -- a microwaved pizza. It was filling and not horrible, but rather tasteless -- in spite of my addition of ham (remember all that ham I referred to?) and lots of oregano.

Tuesday evening, I stopped at Gray's Cafeteria (where Hoosiers go to graze) and picked up some baked tilapia, macaroni and cheese, and sugar free cherry pie. Yum. Real food cooked in real ovens by real people. Tasty indeed.

Which made me think about slowing down -- spiritually that is. How often do I just grab a spiritual bit -- the equivalent of a micro-waved meal? A quick hit of scripture, a hurried prayer of out the Book of Common Prayer, etc. And how many times do I really take time -- like the good people at Gray's did on my behalf -- to prepare the tastes that I would enjoy. Looking for the ingredients that would please my spiritual palate and then putting them together with care -- and time.

I have no idea what's on tonight's menu at home. But I've decided to stop at the grocery next to the office and assemble a meal and fix it myself. And I intend to do the same with my spiritual meal, as well. To take time this evening for reading and reflection and prayer and quiet. To let God break through as I enjoy the tastes of the meal I've prepared for me -- and He's prepared for me.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

True leisureliness is a beautiful thing and may not lightly be given away. Indeed, it is one of the outstanding and most wonderful features of the life of Christ that, with all his work in preaching and healing and planning for the Kingdom, he leaves behind this sense of leisure, of time in which to pray and meditate, to stand and stare at the cornfields and fishing boats, and to listen to the confidences of neighbors and passers-by.

Most of us need from time to time the experience of something spacious or space-making, when Time ceases to be the enemy, goad-in-hand, and becomes our friend. To read good literature, gaze on natural beauty, to follow cultivated pursuits until our spirits are refreshed and expanded, will not unfit us for the up and doing of life. Rather will it help us to separate the essential from the unessential, to know where we are really needed and get a sense of proportion. We shall find ourselves giving the effect of leisure even in the midst of a full and busy life. People do not pour their joys or sorrows into the ears of those with an eye on the clock.

--Caroline C. Graveson

Quaker Wisdom for Today

Trouble of soul can teach us things that raptures never could - not only patience and perseverance, but humility and sympathy with others.

--Edward Grubb

Taste and See -- Days 6 & 7

The primary tastes of these two days were ham and cheese. Nancy is off in southern Indiana watching grandkids (watching them do what, I'm not quite sure) so I am a bachelor for the time being. She left the fridge stocked with various goodies for me -- including ham and cheese. So for Saturday lunch, I had a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich. Then for supper I had ham and sharp cheddar cheese with crackers. Sunday's after-Meeting lunch consisted of a grilled ham and Swiss sandwich.

Imaginative, ain't I.

I did have a steak for supper -- as my sister Julie and her husband Dave stopped by on their way from Montrose, Colorado to our home town of Columbus, Ohio. Off we popped to the local pub -- and I had a filet. Medium rare. Very tasty. Yum...

Which reminded me that, while I like ham and cheese in its many varieties, variety is what adds zest to my meal times. The change of tastes.

Which is true for my spiritual life, as well. While I'm pretty comfortable as Quaker -- I enjoy and grow from the long, deep silences -- and could probably live on the spiritual diet for the rest of my life, I do enjoy the freshness that a change brings. Like my spiritual chats with my friend Beth who's more evangelical that I am. Or my friend Cat (via email) who's decidedly more liberal than I am. And the fresh tastes of reading Phyllis Tickle (an Episcopalian) and Frederick Buechner (Presbyterian) and Tony Jones (Emergent) and A.J. Jacobs (Jewish) and...

My spiritual body is energized by these "out of my ordinary" tastes.

Hmmm, I wonder what I'll have for lunch today. Doubt that it's ham and cheese -- I still have that at home.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

It is not necessary that we should know all mysteries before we begin to follow Christ. To some of us much that is taught of His person and His work may not yet be clear, but so it was with the early disciples. They did not understand at first the mystic union with their Master to which they were called, but they followed Him, and as the followed,there was gradually unfolded to them the fullness of His love and life. If we begin where they began, and follow and they followed, we shall end where they ended, in adoring love.

-- London Yearly Meeting, 1909

Taste and See -- Day Five

I met my friend Beth today for a late lunch to do final planning for our upcoming "Art of Faith" workshop. The menu had all sorts of tempting taste treats, but I went with a simple salad and and chicken salad sandwich. Tasty enough, but ... what made the tastes memorable was not how they felt on my tongue, but rather the company I was keeping. The fellowship I enjoyed.

Which is something we often forget about when we think about taste -- we can't take the sense in isolation. It, like all our senses, involves all of us. And so the taste of salad and chicken salad at Cornerstone reminds me of Beth and the plans we've made for the workshop we're co-leading.

It was a good reminder that, for all my sensory experiences, I do not live in a vacuum -- much of my "sensing" takes place in relationship to others. And that is a gift from God.

--Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

I have assumed a name today for my religious principles - Quaker-Catholicism - having direct spiritual teaching for its distinctive dogma, yet recognising the high worth of all other forms of Faith: a system, in the sense of inclusion, not exclusion; an appreciation of the universal and the various teachings of the Spirit, through the faculties given to us, or independent of them.

--Caroline Fox

Taste and See -- Day Four

I went Greek today. I had lunch at Aesop's Tables here in Indianapolis. I like Aesop's -- good food, good prices, good company. And I get to visit with my old buddy Bill Brooks (we used to be apartment mates back in our New Castle days). I ordered my usual at Aesop's -- a MaryBeth salad. It's a Greek salad with tatziki and gyro meat. Lamb.

Lamb... hmmm, any spiritual connections there. Only one or one-hundred, I suppose. The one that came immediately to mind was from the gospel of John -- "Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold the Lamb of God!'"

Behold, indeed!

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

By the discovery of God, therefore, I do not mean anything mysterious, or mystical, or unattainable. I simply mean becoming acquainted with Him as one becomes acquainted with a human friend; that is, finding out what is His nature, and His character, and coming to under-stand His ways. I mean in short discovering what sort of a Being He really is--whether good or bad, whether kind or unkind, whether selfish or unselfish, whether strong or weak, whether wise or foolish, whether just or unjust. It is of course evident that everything in one's religious life depends upon the sort of God one worships. The character of the worshipper must necessarily be moulded by the character of the object worshipped. If it is a cruel and revengeful God, or a selfish and unjust God, the worshipper will be cruel, and revengeful, and selfish, and unjust, also. if it is a loving, tender, forgiving, unselfish God, the worshipper will be loving, and tender, and forgiving, and unselfish, as well.

-- Hannah Whitall Smith (author, The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life)

Taste and See, Day Three

...Water... Cool, Clear Water

My co-worker Nancy and I had to take a little road trip today. So, before we pulled out of the parking lot, Nancy did something that would have been unthinkable not too many years ago -- she ran to the grocery store next to the office and bought us water for the trip.

In the "old" days, we would have arrived our destination parched, unless the driver deigned to stop for a drink. Which, since I was driving, would not have happened. My belief is that once you are on the road you should not stop until you get there if it's fewer than three hours away.

So we hydrated our way to Seymour. Between sips, though, I thought about what a luxury this was -- to have cool, clear water sitting in a cup holder, chilled by the car's air conditioner, and right at hand should I want any. It kept my thirst at bay.

And I thought of all those Bible verses about thirst -- from Exodus 17 ("But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, 'Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?'") to Nehemiah 9 ("You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.") to Psalm 42 ("My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?").

And, I have to admit, that when I thought of that passage from Psalms, I felt more than a bit guilty. I could easily remember times when I could say "My soul thirsts for water, for the cool clear water God. When can I go and get some water?" (especially on hot summer days out in the prairie or on my tractor) but when is the last time I was so thirsty for God that I would cry, like the Psalmist, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"

I began to feel a little easier when I reflected that I must have that feeling more than I recognize because, for one, every Sunday (or First Day as some of us Quakers say) I do thirst for worship. I want to join fellow seekers on the way to God in a time of coming before God to learn from Him and each other. And I often leave worship feeling that, while my thirst has been partially slaked, I have been privileged to take sips from a deep well and I need to return more often.

And then I think of Jesus and the woman at the well -- "Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.'"

I say that's what I want -- living water that leaves my thirst satisfied. But then I think, I'm often too satisfied with my spiritual life as it is. Perhaps a little unrequited thirst is a good thing. A very good thing, in fact, for it keeps bringing me back to the well that never will run dry.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

O FRIENDS! with whom my feet have trod
The quiet aisles of prayer,
Glad witness to your zeal for God
And love of man I bear.

I trace your lines of argument;
Your logic linked and strong
I weigh as one who dreads dissent,
And fears a doubt as wrong.

But still my human hands are weak
To hold your iron creeds:
Against the words ye bid me speak
My heart within me pleads.

Who fathoms the Eternal Thought?
Who talks of scheme and plan?
The Lord is God! He needeth not
The poor device of man.

I walk with bare, hushed feet the ground
Ye tread with boldness shod;
I dare not fix with mete and bound
The love and power of God.

Ye praise His justice; even such
His pitying love I deem:
Ye seek a king; I fain would touch
The robe that hath no seam.

Ye see the curse which overbroods
A world of pain and loss;
I hear our Lord’s beatitudes
And prayer upon the cross.

More than your schoolmen teach, within
Myself, alas! I know:
Too dark ye cannot paint the sin,
Too small the merit show.

I bow my forehead to the dust,
I veil mine eyes for shame,
And urge, in trembling self-distrust,
A prayer without a claim.

I see the wrong that round me lies,
I feel the guilt within;
I hear, with groan and travail-cries,
The world confess its sin.

Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings;
I know that God is good!

Not mine to look where cherubim
And seraphs may not see,
But nothing can be good in Him
Which evil is in me.

The wrong that pains my soul below
I dare not throne above,
I know not of His hate,—I know
His goodness and His love.

I dimly guess from blessings known
Of greater out of sight,
And, with the chastened Psalmist, own
His judgments too are right.

I long for household voices gone,
For vanished smiles I long,
But God hath led my dear ones on,
And He can do no wrong.

I know not what the future hath
Of marvel or surprise,
Assured alone that life and death
His mercy underlies.

And if my heart and flesh are weak
To bear an untried pain,
The bruisëd reed He will not break,
But strengthen and sustain.

No offering of my own I have,
Nor works my faith to prove;
I can but give the gifts He gave,
And plead His love for love.

And so beside the Silent Sea
I wait the muffled oar;
No harm from Him can come to me
On ocean or on shore.

I know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care.

O brothers! if my faith is vain,
If hopes like these betray,
Pray for me that my feet may gain
The sure and safer way.

And Thou, O Lord! by whom are seen
Thy creatures as they be,
Forgive me if too close I lean
My human heart on Thee!

-- John Greenleaf Whittier, "The Eternal Goodness"

Quaker Wisdom for Today

Being orderly come together, [you are] not to spend time with needless, unnecessary and fruitless discourses; but to proceed in the wisdom of God, not in the way of the world, as a worldly assembly of men, by hot contests, by seeking to outspeak and over-reach one another in discourse as if it were controversy between party and party of men, or two sides violently striving for dominion, not deciding affairs by the greater vote. But in the wisdom, love and fellowship of God, in gravity, patience, meekness, in unity and concord, submitting one to another in lowliness of heart, and in the holy Spirit of truth and righteousness all things [are] to be carried on; by hearing, and determining every matter coming before you, in love, coolness, gentleness and dear unity; - I say, as one only party, all for the truth of Christ, and for the carrying on the work of the Lord, and assisting one another in whatsoever ability God hath given.

--Edward Burrough

Taste and See -- Day Two

Ah, a cuppa Joe. Java. Brain juice. Cup of tar. Coffee. I have that bitter brew with my breakfast each morning. I'm a pretty obsessive compulsive guy (should there be a hypen there?), so it's oatmeal and coffee seven days out of seven -- unless I'm traveling or we have company. Even then, though, there's one norm -- coffee.

This morning, though, since Beth Booram and I are doing our 30 days of tasting, I thought more about my mugful of mocha. Especially, despite the copious amounts of cream and "pink stuff" (the diabetic's sugar alternative) how it leaves an often slightly bitter aftertaste. Which made me think about words I've spoken over the years. Words that I've said that can't be taken back and leave an awfully bitter aftertaste in my soul and in the souls of those who I've spoken those words to. Words I wished -- often right after they flew from my fevered anger -- I could take back, but knew I could not. Too late. They were gone and on their wounding way. Drinking my coffee, I remembered the words of James --

"the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be."

As my mother used to say, "Brent, watch your mouth..." (The only reason she doesn't say it anymore is because I live 200 miles away and she knows it won't do any good, anyhow.)

On a happier note, I watched my mouth at lunch when I had fish and chips. Not quite what Jesus fixed by the Sea of Tiberius after the resurrection, but still they reminded me of the how Jesus called the disciples to be fishers of men. And then it raised the question, what does that mean for me today? How do I call people to Christ? What is my witness? Is it as a smug, arrogant, self-righteous know-it-all? Or as someone who models Christ-like love and compassion? Someone who's winsome? I certainly hope it's the latter.

The fish and chips are still present in my swollen belly. Yikes. Perhaps I should have had the poached salmon!

-- Brent

Taste and See -- Day One

As my faithful reader knows, Beth Booram and I are getting reading to lead a workshop on "The Art of Faith: Awakening Your Senses to the Wonder of God." What you may know know is that (you'll be very surprised) is that as a pair of writers, we are considering turning it into a book.

As part of that idea, Beth and I are both doing 30 days of taste (as opposed to 40 days of purpose?) based on the idea "Taste and see that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:8) We will each keep a journal of our tasting experiences and how they impact our spiritual lives. So, as part of that journey into the senses, I decided I will keep (most of) my journal on-line.

Today, as usual, the first taste I had was Quaker oats. Yes, predictable. I am a creature of habit. But, since I was trying to pay attention to taste -- which is difficult at that hour for a person who definitely is not a morning person and whose dog was barking at critters all night long -- when the first spoonful hit my palate, I tasted not only the creamy richness of milk covered oats, but also a reminder of my own faith tradition. I am a Quaker after all -- even if I don't look anything like the man on the oats box.

I thought about our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ as being intimately interwoven into such things as equality of all people, simplicity of life, peacefulness and resolved to live more closely and fully into them this day. And the coffee helped wake me up so I could actually be aware enough to do that.

Another taste I had during the day was water. I drink a lot of water. I'm not much into soda pop or iced tea (trying to get away from the caffeine). And the purity of the water I had (coming from a filtered source in our office's kitchenette), reminded me of the purity toward which I strive. Though I will never be as pure as the filtered H2O that passed over my palate, it reminded me of the purity of God's love for me and the hope that I have in Him.

One of the final tastes of this day was a glass of Shiraz-Cabernet blend. No, not Welches. It never fails to call to mind that Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine. I doubt that it was a blend, but who knows? All I know is the host of the wedding pronounced it "Good." As does Jesus when He looks over creation on its best days -- it is good. So I need to look for that good in all that I encounter.

This is going to be a month to savor.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

"…, oh, how sweet and pleasant it is to the truly spiritual eye to see the several sorts of believers, several forms of Christians in the school of Christ, every one learning their own lesson, performing their own peculiar service, and knowing, owning, and loving one another in their several places and different performances to their Master, to whom they are to give an account, and not to quarrel with one another about their different practices. For this is the true ground of love and unity, not that such a man walks and does just as I do, but because I feel the same Spirit and life in him, and that he walks in his rank, in his own order, in his proper way and place of subjection to that: and this is far more pleasing to me than if he walked just in that track wherein I walk."

-- Isaac Penington

Quaker Wisdom for Today

There is no debate among the early Quakers as to whether the seat of authority is in the Scriptures, or in the hierarchical leadership, or in synods, or in church tradition. The authority is in the gospel which is the power of God, and which is not of man nor by man, but of God and from Christ.

--Lewis Benson (Catholic Quakerism: A Vision for All Men)

Quaker Wisdom for Today

Before we can bring the message of reconciliation to the world, with, the power and the conviction that God is ever ready to forgive us, we must all be reconciled one to another. We are all Friends. But that is only a sentimental term … unless we can bring order into the House of Love; and, having studied our testimony in all its aspects, leave the things wherein we differ for further consideration, after the manner of Friends, and apply ourselves with all the capacity we possess to uniting and concentrating our efforts to set forth the way of Christ anew in a great and common international order of service... In this gathering of all who bear the name of Friend … can we not rise to the thought and the practice of a great Quaker brotherhood, organised, not to promote the Society of Friends in the world, but to serve the world of God's children by changing the unnatural anger and aversion which makes them enemies into that loving co-operation which will turn the whole world into a society of friends

-- Carl Heath. Heath was a Friend from Great Britain who was instrumental in setting up Quaker Embassies across Europe following WWI and laid the groundwork for the future Quaker United Nations Offices.

Time for a New Yearly Meeting in Indiana

I am finally ready to cave in on this issue. For a long time I have held out that, despite the troubles in Western Yearly Meeting, there was no need for a new yearly meeting. I said that to the so-called Progressives and I have said that to the so-called Evangelicals.

But I have changed my mind. I think it's time for a new Yearly Meeting here in Indiana and I think I'm just the fellow to organize it. No, I don't have any backing for this, other than my own sense of self-appointment, but that's never stopped any Quaker before (well, maybe it has in the past, but doesn't seem to be an issue these days).

To this end, I have contacted an attorney at the law firm of Dewey Cheatum and have asked them to draw up incorporation papers for a new Yearly Meeting. It is to be called "Mid-Indiana Yearly Meeting of Progressive Evangelical & Evangelical Progressive Friends." I wanted to call it Brent Bill Yearly Meeting, but the attorney (an Episcopalian by the way) said that sounded a bit pretentious and haughty and not at all God-led. So I deferred to his wisdom.

The creatures joining me in this proposal for a new Yearly Meeting are my dog Princess and Ebony, one of my cats. The other cat said she didn't want any part of it -- my own fault, I guess. I should have named her Judgement instead of Grace. I did not ask Nancy to participate.

That's because she and I use far different theological language and I didn't want a separation to be the first point of business for the new group. Besides we disagree on how a phrase in Faith and Practice should be interpreted. In Part III there's a section it says under the title "Friendly Method" that, "After due consideration, it is the duty of the clerk of the meeting to weigh carefully various expressions and to state what he or she believes to be the sense of the meeting. Action is by approval of the gathered meeting." Nancy agrees with that. I say that it's all fine and good, but the nuance of that is "approval of the gathered meeting unless they decide something that I disapprove of." I mean, let's face it, some Friends just cannot be trusted to hear the words of God in their souls or through the Bible.

Hence the need for this new Yearly Meeting.

Of course, I will -- I mean the new Yearly Meeting will -- have to write a new Faith and Practice. Here are some of the changes you'll notice:

• Removing all affiliated groups that I don't like, depending on the day and my mood and whether they agree with me or not.
• Adding "Faith and Practice" to the Biblical canon. Hey, it worked for the Mormons!
• Adding a Loyalty Oath for pastors to sign. After all, we want to have a clergy caste now -- this idea that a Quaker pastor is a member like all other members is just plain silly. We know that pastors should have to live up to standards that normal followers of Jesus (aka the laity) shouldn't have to. And besides, what's with this Quaker abhorence to signing stuff? It's not like it's a creed or swearing an oath or anything.
• Pastors only will be allowed to be part of the Executive Committee, clerks, or other officers of the Yearly Meeting. We really can't trust the "laity" to know God's will for us, now can we?
• Adding to the Rescinding of Recording portion a section about not agreeing to whatever the current mood of the Yearly Meeting (i.e. Brent) is.
  

I -- I mean the Yearly Meeting -- would have no assessments for the first year. Or probably any year thereafter, since many Meetings don't pay their share anyhow and still come to Yearly Meeting and complain. If I -- I mean the Yearly Meeting -- does institute assessments, only those people from Meetings who actually pay their full assessment will be allowed to speak. And then only if they agree with what I -- I mean the Yearly Meeting -- thinks.

There won't be any committees. There's no need for them. After all, the Yearly Meeting will all be of one mind and so everyone in it -- Princess, Ebony, and me -- will know what to do.

Oh, and the official scripture verse of the new Yearly Meeting will be John 11:35.

Well, I think those are the highlights. If you're interested in joiningg the new Yearly Meeting I invite you to come to a meeting the second Tuesday of next week. We'll be gathering at the David B. Updegraff Memorial Swimming Pool.

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

“Love is the hardest lesson in Christianity; but, for that reason, it should be most our care to learn it.”

-- William Penn

Quaker Wisdom for Today

This central affirmation, that the Light of the Christ-like God shines in every person, implies that our knowledge of God is both subjective and objective. ... But it is an equally important part of our faith and practice to recognise that we are not affirming the existence and priority of your light and my light, but of the Light of God, and of the God who is made known to us supremely in Jesus. … It is further checked by the fact that if God is known in measure by every person, our knowledge of him will be largely gained through the experience of others who reverently and humbly seek him.

--L Hugh Doncaster

Quaker Wisdom for Today

Lofty, ethereal, and intellectual knowledge of God can be obtained in may ways, but true knowledge can be obtained only by God's Spirit shining in upon the heart, enlightening and opening the understanding.

-- Robert Barclay

Quaker Wisdom for Today

It appears to me to be one important means of helping the human mind in a healthy state, that in recreations which are needful for it, it should be trained as much as possible to look to those things that bring profit as well as pleasure with them. ... Surely He who formed the ear and the heart would not have given these tastes and powers without some purpose for them.

-- Elizabeth Fry (1833)

Quaker Wisdom for Today

There is a daily round for beauty as well as for goodness, a world of flowers and books and cinemas and clothes and manners as well as of mountains and masterpieces... God is in all beauty, not only in the natural beauty of earth and sky, but in all fitness of language and rhythm, whether it describe a heavenly vision or a street fight, a Hamlet or a Falstaff, a philosophy or a joke: in all fitness of line and colour and shade, whether seen in the Sistine Madonna or a child's knitted frock: in all fitness of sound and beat and measure, whether the result be Bach's Passion music or a nursery jingle. The quantity of God, so to speak, varies in the different examples, but His quality of beauty in fitness remains the same.

-- Caroline C Graveson. Graveson was a writer and vice-principal of Goldsmiths College (part of the University of London).

Quaker Wisdom for Today

All true worship is inspired by God. The place of worship is the place of dependence, the place of wonder and of power, the place of fellowship and of communion... Worship links us to God and implies faith in a God who is in some sense personal. ... Thus the act of worship presupposes on our part a sense of dependence on God and the acknowledgment of our need of him, and this means that the element of adoration and thanksgiving should always be present in worship. Worship in Christian experience is our response to the God of Love.

-- Robert Davis

Quaker Wisdom for Today

"... the less form in religion the better, since God is a Spirit; for the more mental our worship, the more adequate to the nature of God; the more silent, the more suitable to the language of a Spirit."

-- William Penn

Quaker Wisdom for Today

Freedom of expression is the freedom to worship God on your own terms. Value the opportunity to think unguided by the world. Learn what you feel you need to know, let other information pass. No moment of silence is a waste of time.
-- Rachel Needham, British Friend

The Future of Friends

Since I was a bit toward the negative side in my previous post, I thought I should do something positive. Something that shows that I have actually given a good bit of thought about the future of Friends and this thing that I've been calling theologically hospitality. That latter phrase -- "theological hospitality" has come under fire by some people who think it means being wishy-washy or non-committal about faith matters. So I invite you to read my thoughts on it -- and how it could impact the future of Friends and our ability to share God's good news with a hurting, searching world. I gave these thoughts as part of a keynote speech to North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative) earlier this summer.

*****************
Discerning Which Way Now
North Carolina Yearly Meeting – Conservative Lecture
University of North Carolina -- Wilmington
Seventh month 10, 2009

I want this lecture to be both a combination of information and challenge – information about how I see the best of Quaker discernment and how it can be used by Friends to determine “Which way now?’ and a challenge to think about what God is calling us to do with this people in this place at this time.

I want to say something about the second part first – the reason that this topic matters to me. First, besides being a writer and Quaker minister (no longer a hireling for the Society – I have hired out to some Christians who actually pay very well), I spend my days as a congregational consultant. In my role as executive vice president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, I see all sorts of congregational dynamics at work – in Indiana congregations large and small, rural and urban, Christian and other. And that includes Friends. I also actually read such journals as the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and peruse statistics on The Association of Religion Data Archives.

All of these have a sobering effect. They mostly show that Friends are losing ground. In North Carolina since 1980, Quakers have posted a twenty-seven percent decline, losing almost 3,000 members – though there are fifteen more congregations than in 1980. Nationally, Friends United Meeting has lost 20,000 members in the past thirty years. The Evangelical Friends International has barely stayed even. Only Friends General Conference has increased in numbers.1


That is why a question that was raised recently at the worship group meeting at our farm seems especially relevant. The question was whether Friends would even exist one hundred years from now. I think that is more than a rhetorical question or an interesting mental exercise – it is a real one. But behind it is an even deeper question – should Friends exist in another 100 years?

*************
To read the rest, visit http://www.ncymc.org/ym2009/Discerning_Which_Way_Now_Brent_Bill_NCYMC%202009.pdf

Sore Losers or Good News?

Sore Losers?

Well, that title may be a bit harsh, but then it seems harshness is the rule of the day for Quakers in this part of Indiana – at least those who have any affiliation with Western Yearly Meeting. And I have resisted writing on this subject hoping that harshness had had its day and was a thing of the past. But something happened yesterday that so disturbed me that I felt I needed to write – even if it’s just for me.

My own affiliation with that body is unofficial (at this time) but long. I am not a member of a Meeting that belongs to Western Yearly Meeting, though I attended one for eight years that is a member of Western Yearly Meeting. I am a former staff member of Western Yearly Meeting and wrote the narrative for the Yearly Meeting 150th anniversary.

As many Friends know, this Yearly Meeting has been the scene of a fair amount of rancor around a certain issue the past few years. It looked as if it would all come to a head at this summer’s Yearly Meeting sessions – which is one reason I decided to attend an arts and faith conference 1,500 miles away. Not because I’m a coward, but frankly because I wanted the geographic distance as an assist to spiritual distance – I wanted space to hold the yearly Meeting in prayer. To pray for people on both sides of the issue, for wisdom for the clerk, for God’s will to be done (not mine), and for Christ’s love to prevail.

James 5:16(b) says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” so I was hoping that the fervent prayer of this (not-so-righteous) man might at least avail a little. I received daily reports about the progress of Yearly Meeting from people I trust and admire. And I heard that there was a fair amount of tension and disagreement but that the clerk, by and large, did as fine a job as possible in allowing people to be heard, to hearing what people were saying, and to forming a sense of the Meeting – which, as I understand it, was that there was no unity on this controversial issue and so no action would be taken.

In other words, it sounded like Quaker process – as outlined in Faith and Practice – was followed. The Yearly Meeting met in session, discussed and prayed over this issue, sought God’s will and moved on. Now I understand that some people would not be happy, no matter how this turned out (though they should be if Quaker process was followed) because it meant they “lost” – if you want to put in terms of winning and losing (which I think is ludicrous – who would win in this situation).

I thought the point of Quaker process was partly to trust the wisdom of God being transmitted through those gathered for Meeting for Worship for Business.

Evidently I was wrong. Before Yearly Meting was over someone who, in my opinion, should have known better based on their position in the Yearly Meeting, tried to raise the question on the floor of Yearly Meeting. After the Yearly Meeting had moved on to other issues.

Still, I hoped this issue at last would be put aside and the Yearly Meeting could then get on to doing something really important – such as speaking the Christian Quaker witness to a world that is hungering for Good News – not stories of Quakers wrangling with each other. Is that wrangling what Jesus had in mind as He hung upon the cross? I somehow doubt it.

What finally swayed me to write was the recent Plainfield Friends Church e-newsletter which reported that the Meeting had a approved a minute that said, Plainfield Friends Meeting affirms the Western Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice-2005 Edition, and will continue to faithfully follow it as a description of what we believe and how we are to work together as a meeting and Yearly Meeting.

That is a fine minute. I have no problem with that. But I do have a problem with the statement that proceeds it – “We are concerned that at the 2009 Yearly Meeting Sessions there was an unwillingness to uphold basic principles in our Faith and Practice concerning the deity of Christ and atonement through Christ.

That seems a pretty strong statement. It’s an accusation against other people of good faith, basically saying that other people were unwilling to uphold Faith and Practice. Yikes. That really bothers me. If I said those words I would be saying, “I have the right answers and the right thinking and however faithful you might think you are, you are wrong, your understanding of faith is wrong, your faith is false, and you…” You, you, you… Me, me, me.

Where is God in this? What would Jesus think? Where is the Holy Spirit at work – no fruits of the spirit evident in that statement.

And I found the next part of the newsletter even more upsetting. Titled “Looking for a Way Forward in Western Yearly Meeting” it says “There are a number of meetings and individuals in Western Yearly Meeting who are concerned that we failed to follow Faith and Practice in some of the actions at Yearly Meeting this year. Some even see a loss of integrity and authority seriously damaging the Yearly Meeting….People are looking for ways forward in what has become a divisive situation.”

It then announces a meeting to discuss this need for a way forward. A way forward to what? It’s not a way forward as a Yearly Meeting to my thinking – it’s a way forward of a particular way of thinking theologically, to the exclusion of those who think differently. The clue is that phrase “that we failed to follow Faith and Practice in some of the actions at Yearly Meeting this year.” It seems to me that Faith and Practice was followed – at least so far as Quaker process is concerned. And just because my way or your way wasn’t the way things turned out, doesn’t mean the process wasn’t followed. Indeed a meeting such as the one that is being held does more, in my opinion to harm the integrity and authority of Yearly Meeting. The Yearly Meeting is not the staff. It is not a few leaders. It is the people called Quakers of the various constituent Meetings gathering under Faith and Practice, following its procedures for how to conduct business, and seeking God’s will together. The authority and integrity of the Yearly Meeting is not threatened by actions taken together in a Meeting for Worship for Business as part of the annual sessions. It is threatened when those who disagree with an outcome raise a hue and cry about needing a “way forward” for their way of believing.

I find this all very sad. Very sad. It misses the point of our mission as Friends in this world – one that was well articulated by Friend Edgar Dunstan –

The early Friends were fully assured that they had a message for all men – not merely that one or other of their testimonies was specially relevant to their own time, but that message in its totality, in its wholeness, was God’s good news for all sorts and conditions of men...’Have you anything to declare?’ is a vital challenge to which every one of us is personally called to respond and is also a challenge that every meeting should consider of primary importance. It should lead us to define, with such clarity as we can reach, precisely what it is that Friends of this generation have to say that is not, as we believe, being said effectively by others. What, indeed, have we to declare to this generation that is of sufficient importance to justify our separate existence as part of the Christian fellowship? …Have we ‘good news’ for them?

Have we good news for them? Not at this rate. Who wants news of Quakers – peaceable Friends of all people – fighting amongst themselves.

To quote the Quaker theologian Homer Simpson, “Bah. Meh.”

-- Brent

Quaker Wisdom for Today

In silence which is active, the Inner Light begins to glow - a tiny spark. For the flame to be kindled and to grow, subtle argument and the clamour of our emotions must be stilled. It is by an attention full of love that we enable the Inner Light to blaze and illuminate our dwelling and to make of our whole being a source from which this Light may shine out.
-- Pierre Lacout

Pierre Lacout was born in 1923 in the south of France. He was a priest of the Carmelite Order before becoming a Quaker in 1964. The above is translated from his book God Is Silence (Dieu est Silence).

Quaker Wisdom for Today

Eternal God, let thy spirit inspire and guide us. Thy will be done. Give us the strength to fulfill our task without selfishness, slothfulness, or cowardice. . . . Eternal God, we will listen to thy call and obey it in order that we may hear it ever more clearly. Give us the honesty to examine our own acts and thoughts as scrupulously and severely as those of other people. . . . Give us the quiet courage needed in all circumstances and natural to whoever has consecrated his life to thee. . . . Do not let any defeat, any fall . . . separate us from thee; in the midst of all our weakness let thy love take hold of us and little by little lift us up to thee.
-- Pierre Cérésole

Pierre Cérésole (1879-1945) of Switzerland was the founder International Voluntary Service for Peace. A conscientious objector, he found himself in prison for that stand. He joined Friends in 1936. He wrote this prayer shortly before his death.

Quaker Wisdom for Today

I ask for daily bread, but not for wealth, lest I forget the poor.
I ask for strength, but not for power, lest I despise the meek.
I ask for wisdom, but not for learning, lest I scorn the simple.
I ask for a clean name, but not for fame, lest I contemn the lowly.
I ask for peace of mind, but not for idle hours, lest I fail to hearken to the call of duty.

--Inazo Nitobe, 1909

Rooted and Grounded

I am back home. Home, for me, is the Midwest. In general. Specifically, it's Ohio and Indiana. Ohio is where I grew up and it is still home to me in a way that is very spiritual and yet somehow undefinable. I have been gone from there now more years (barely) than I lived there, but whenever I cross the Ohio-Indiana line and see the arch proclaiming "Welcome to Ohio" or hear Karin Berqquist sing "Ohio" ("I know Ohio like the back of my hand") a sense of melancholy homecoming settles over me.

Just as real, but less melancholic, was the feeling I had flying into Indianapolis yesterday after almost 12 days in Colorado and New Mexico.

Those were glorious days -- vistas that can barely be imagined. In Colorado, I visited my sister Julie and her husband Dave who now live in Montrose. Julie has wanted to live in Colorado ever since she and I were there at Young Life's Silver Cliff Ranch in the late 70s (she as a kid and me as a leader). She says (and I have no reason to doubt her -- knowing both my younger and older self) that as my youngest sister I made her go. But she loved it. And now she and Dave live there. We visited Black Canyon, Ridgway, Ouray and other fascinating places. I took a ton of photographs.

Likewise in Santa Fe and Chimayo. Skies wide open, wispy cloud formations, amazingly colorful desert flowers. What great light.

But. But in the same way that St. Paul tells us that we are to be "rooted and grounded" in [Christ's] love so that we might be filled with the fullness of God, I find that I am rooted and grounded in the Midwestern soil. It speaks to my soul with its lush greenness, multiplicity of flowers and grasses, tall trees, and manageable vistas.

Likewise its people -- generally polite, often understated (if asked how something was, we'll say "Pretty good" or "Not bad" as a high compliment), deeply spiritual -- even if we disagree about what it means to be spiritual. These people, like the land at its best, reflect the goodness of God's love. At our worst, we are like a wicked tornado, shredding everything in our path (and some of that has gone on, I hear, among a gathering of -- of all people -- Quakers this week. I am glad I was in New Mexico for that!).

Regardless. These are my people. This is my home. This is my vision of Heaven -- both here on earth and in Eternity. Good hearted women and men rejoicing (though subtly) in the blessings of God, land abundant and fertile, life a wee bit slower (when I allow it to be), and God feeling near.

I am rooted and grounded in this place.

I hope you feel that way about your place. God be praised. And it's good to be home.

-- Brent

The Art of Faith: Awkening Your Senses to the Wonder of God

If your faith has flat-lined, if you're bored with church, if you're weary of words -- then come and recharge your spirit by participating in The Art of Faith workshop that Beth Booram and I are co-leading this fall in Indianapolis.

Using a creative blend of artistic elements, contemplative exercises, and interactive activities, The Art of Faith will breathe fresh life into your soul and awaken all your senses to the wonder of God!

The Art of Faith workshop helps people of faith learn how to experience a daily round of beauty through their five senses and the fine arts. Its purpose is to enlarge our souls in a way that cannot happen merely through participating in a weekly worship service. The workshop's aim is to introduce participants to experiences of the God who created us soul and body – and to see our bodies as transmitters of spiritual wisdom and experience.

This is a workshop where participants don't just talk about meeting God, instead they experience the Divine in ways that are sensory and participatory, using various artistic mediums to help them encounter God. The content and presentation are highly creative, utilizing artistic elements, contemplative exercises, and engaging interaction.

The first "Art of Faith" workshop will be held Saturday, October 3, 2009 from 9:00am - 3:00 pm at Trinity Church (6151 N. Central in Indianapolis, IN).

Sessions include:

• I. Sensual Spirituality: Awakening All Five Senses to the Wonder of God
  Activity: Touching, Smelling, Seeing, Hearing and Tasting the Divine
  
• II. Picturing the Face of Jesus, The Face of Welcome
  Activity: Art Contemplation and Imagining Prayer
  
• III. Paying Attention in Love
  Activity: Interactive stations
  
• IV. Picturing the Face of Jesus, The Face of Compassion
  Activity: Collaborative art

The Art of Faith costs $35 if you register before September 26. The cost rises to $45 after September 26.The registration fee includes snacks, lunch, materials, and four workshop sessions. Online registration will begin soon and space is limited.

For those of you who don't know Beth, she's is an exceptional communicator who has authored a number of excellent works, including The Wide Open Spaces of God and Picturing the Face of Jesus: Encountering Christ Through Art.

I hope you'll join us on October 3!

-- Brent

PS We hope to take this "show" on the road -- so if you know somebody or someplace you think would be interested in hosting "The Art of Faith" please let me know!

Tom Mullen: In Memoriam

I received the first of a string of bad news phone calls yesterday afternoon. The first was that Tom Mullen, former dean of Earlham School of Religion and beloved Quaker minister, had been life-lined via helicopter from Richmond to Methodist Hospital in Indianapols. My friend who called said, "I doesn't look good." In updates from other friends throughout the afternoon and evening, it became apparent how bad it was -- cerebral bleeding, a stoke, in a deep coma, on life support. It was hoped he would survive until his family could gather.

He did, but not much longer. I got the call this morning that he had died.

A true loss.

I first met Tom on a rainy autumn day in 1978. I was visiting Earlham School of Religion, thanks to constant phone calls from Keith Esch, and thinking about transferring there. When I came downstairs after visiting with the man who would be my advisor, there on the floor sat a fellow in blue jeans and not-new shirt, playing with my 3 year old son. Benji, as he was known back then, was vastly entertained by this fellow -- his ready laugh, silly expressions, and willingness to play with a little kid. As we gathered Benji up to head home, and loaded him and us into the car, I asked my wife, "Who was that?" "Tom Mullen," she said. "One of the professors." Well, Tom didn't look like one of the professors -- at least my image of what they should look like. And yet he, probably among all the instructors I had there, influenced my life and ministry the most.

One of my next encounters with Tom was after transferring to Earlham School of Religion. It was while playing basketball with the ESR "team" -- "Yahweh's Warriors" (good name for a bunch of Quaker-types, eh?). I remember a good outside jumpshot, sharp elbows, a passion for the game, and more than a few fouls that never seemed to be called. I endeavored to make sure I was on his team everthereafter.

I read Tom's books and laughed out loud -- as did most every Christian who read them. At least those of us who note the absurdity of life sometimes and silliness of our earnestly making our way through them. Most of his books were funny, but they had a depth and spiritual nuance that too many readers (and critics!) missed. They saw the stories, but failed to notice the spiritual layering that anchored them.

I took Tom's "Writing for the Religious Market" class, which, in a very big way launched my writing career. While arguing with him one day over lunch about whether there was any value in rock and roll music (he was agin' it), he said that while my arguments did not convince him, he thought they were interesting and would make a good book. If I'd write, he said, he'd see that some editors saw it. So I did and he did and one of them bought it and Rock and Roll: Proceed with Caution became one of my biggest selling books.

One of the things I so loved about Tom was his sense of fun -- from telling jokes to just having fun. He taught me how to use humor wisely and well. And didn't seemed too bothered that I was sort of a smart ass. Indeed, he even seemed to appreciate that part of me and didn't act like it detracted from the possibility that I might be an effective pastor and writer. He encouraged me to find that part of my writing voice that had humor in it. When I wrote my third book, Lunch Is My Favorite Subject, I made the setting the fictional Mullenville High School in honor of Tom (a dubious honor, I know) and tried out my humor voice. One which I've kept for many years, in varying degrees, depending on the book.

Tom quickly became my writing coach, my mentor, and my friend. He always instructed me wisely and well -- and kindly, too. Even when I messed up -- which was often -- I could count on his counsel to be true, but caring.

I often joked that I modeled my life after Tom's -- Tom wrote, so I wrote. Tom married a woman (actually 2!) named Nancy, so I married a woman named Nancy. He had diabetes, so I got diabetes. He gave humorous after dinners speeches, I gave after dinner speeches. He taught writing at Earlham School of Religion, I taught writing at Earlham School of Religion. When he got Crohn's Disease though, I told him I was done imitating him.

And while my life has not really been an imitation of Tom Mullen's, I could have done far worse than imitating him. His kindness, ready wit, caring, love of his family, generous Christian faith, and so much more make him a hero of the faith to me. The kind of man that I hope to grow into.

I have a ton of wonderful Tom Mullen memories -- as does everybody who knew Tom. And today I am beset with a grief that is deep and profound. I loved Tom. I love Tom. I will miss him in this life. The thought of not seeing him at Earlham School of Religion or Yearly Meeting or some other Quaker gathering fills me with a huge sadness. No more hearing the same old jokes, but told with a brand new enthusiasm and twinkle in his eye. Not in this life.

A wise prophet once wrote, "He is worthy of Paradise who makes his companions laugh." If that's the case, then, if I get there, I'd like my room next to Tom's, please."

Godspeed, Tom. Blessings on your new adventure. I look forward to hearing some new stories from you when I arrive.

Love, Brent

PS Yes, Tom, I know that you and Zinnsser would say there's too much "clutter" in this piece (and some misspellings) -- deal with it.

Just As I Am: A Bad Christian's Confessions on Faith

I am Pavlov’s Fundamentalist. I grew in a very theologically conservative Quaker congregation where altar calls were more prominent than the Friends peace testimony. To this day if I hear more than one verse of “Just As I Am” (“with every head bowed and every eye closed, as the organist plays softly through just one more time … just in case, just in case the Spirit is working on some soul’s heart. Let’s tarry here for that poor sinner.”), I have this almost uncontrollable urge to go forward and get re-saved. Or is that re-re-re-re-saved? I told you, I heard lots of altar calls as kid and teenager. Feelings of guilt and unworthiness sweep through and over me.

I don’t. Go forward that is. But “Just As I Am” (and other altar call songs such as “There’s Room at the Cross,” “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” and the like) still send a shiver of sin through me. Literally. I tend to shiver, like a cold wind just blew through the room. And, in light of my upbringing, I’m happy it’s a cold wind and not the hot breath of Hell-fire.

Which is not a bad thing, I guess. I need to be reminded from time to time that, in spite of feeling like the character in Todd Snider’s song “I’m An Alright Guy,” that I am not an alright guy. True, like the fellow in the song, I don’t have a “lotta bodies in my trunk,” but I still know in my soul that there are plenty of times that I don’t live up to the faith I profess.

Too much of my life is like the chorus from the song, too –
“I know I aint perfect but God knows I try
I think I'm an alright guy
I think I'm alright”

Yep, I try to be an alright guy – but I rely too much on my own efforts in doing so. And the harder I try, sometimes, the more I realize that being an alright guy is difficult work that is best done when empowered by the Spirit. It is a surrender – as in “I Surrender All.”

So I am thankful when I hear those old songs. They remind me to cast myself upon the ocean of light and life (as George Fox says) that covers the ocean of darkness and death. To remember, that as we used to mis-sing, “There’s a wildness in God’s mercy/ like the wildness of the sea.”

“Just As I Am” – indeed. A not alright guy who is loved by God more than I can imagine. Thank you, Jesus.

-- Brent

Straight Lines

Have you ever taken a ride out in country and looked at the straight rows of crops and marveled at just how perfectly spaced they are? Yeah, me neither. At least until about 20 years ago. That's when I married Nancy and thereby married into a family of farmers. So I started noticing things like straight even rows -- especially when I watched them plow or plant or harvest.

Still, I didn't think much about how they did it. Until I started taking care of the land at Ploughshares when began our stewardship here about 5 years ago. Trying to mow in straight lines so as not to mow down the trees we planted (especially since many were 6" seedlings and almost invisible from tractor seat height) was difficult.

There must be some secret to it, I figured. And here's what I've discovered -- yes, there are a variety of techniques for creating straight rows -- including giant planters equipped with GPS. But I've also come to realize that none of them seem to work for me (well, I haven't tried putting GPS on my golf cart with it's pull behind sprayer!). I can't go straight to save my life.

Today, as I sit and look at my office window, I can see my tracks through the prairie where I was out spraying for thistles. The first two rows look pretty straight -- I must have gotten off to a good start. And then the cart tracks start to wiggle and crisscross even. Yikes! I knew I was getting off track (though I didn't know how far off until I looked out of my second floor office) so I decided to go back to my tried, if not completely true method, of picking a point on the horizon and steering the golf cart toward it. The rows after I remembered to do that are somewhat less wavy than those before. Not perfectly straight mind you, but somewhat less wavy.

As I was steering toward my point horizon, I began to think (which is probably how the other lines got too wavy -- thinking too much and paying too little attention to driving) how similar this was to how I now try to live out my faith life. For many years, I looked down at where I was going -- trying to avoid that or hoping to keep in the right track or... Well, you get the idea. And my life, like most lives, was pretty wavy, bumpy. And I was dissatisfied with the results.

Now, with what little wisdom I've gained with age, I have quit watching the row immediately below me and have begun focusing on the horizon -- in this case the love and care of God. I try (and don't always succeed) to keep my spiritual vision up and out -- looking to God.

My life's rows are still wavy. But I think they're less so when I remember to steer this way. I find myself relaxing into the tasks before me more, too, instead of worrying whether or not they are perfectly done. I notice life around me and the scenery that surrounds me.

Now, if I can just remember to always keep my eyes on God.

-- Brent

I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go, Dear Lord -- Well, Probably Not: A Bad Christian's Confessions on Faith

I grew up dreading missionary conferences at our church. Long hours (some lasting 70-80 minutes at least!) sitting in the Fellowship Hall listening to the good missionary families drone on and on about their work in India, or Formosa, or Kenya. Endless series of slides of people with unpronounceable names (at least to my Midwest tongue/ear). The pleas for money and more missionaries -- "who out there in the congregation is feeling God's call?" It wasn't me! And then chop suey. Yes, chop suey -- no matter if the missionaries were from Kenya, India, or Formosa -- where even they didn't eat chop suey. I still hate chop suey.

Then, as things were winding down, we'd sign that old missionary hymn, "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, Dear Lord."

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,

O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;

I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,

I’ll be what You want me to be.

Except I'd always sing it under my breath like this:

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,

Let's skip the mountain, or plain, or sea;

I'm happy right here in Ohio, dear Lord,

Africa is for others -- not me.

Yep, even as an adolescent I was a bad Christian, I guess, even though I wanted to be good. Sort of. Following God's call halfway sounded about as far as I honestly wanted to to go. My biggest fear as a kid was that somehow I would hear "the call" to Africa. Terrified me. All I knew about the "Dark Continent" came from missionary meetings and Tarzan on TV, but it was enough to know that it didn't appeal to me. So I was pretty sure that's where God would call me. The Lord and his mysterious ways, you know? God seemed like the sort of chap (and back then, God was male) who would send me right where I didn't want to go.

After all, He had a long history of doing that. Ask Jonah.

I was glad when I reached the age that my parents quit making me go to the missionary meetings. I had escaped without hearing the call.

Of course, I did sorta hear a call to other "missionary" work -- with high school kids in Young Life and various church related youth groups, as pastor in local congregations, and so on. But still, they didn't involve any huge move. Nice and safe in the Midwest. And very spiritually enriching.

But I still harbor the fear that the call will come to Africa. And I wonder what my response will be? I'm clinging to the wisdom (as I perceive it) of what the great writer and theologian Frederick Buechner said -- “The vocation for you is the one in which your deep gladness and the world’s deep need meet—something that not only makes you happy but that the world needs to have done.”

I'm trusting that God knows that I do want to go where "he wants me to go." Just, please, "dear Lord," not Africa!*

-- Brent

*of course, I know, that somehow I will end up in Africa before the end of my life. I once said, after a miserable night in a cheap hotel in a small city in Indiana (when I was from civilized Ohio) that I'd never been so glad to leave a town and would never, ever, under any circumstances return. Only to have God laugh and say, about 15 years later, "Oh yeah?" I ended up moving to New Castle and spending some of the happiest years of my life there. Hmmmmm....

On Being a Gentleman Farmer

When I was being introduced before giving a speech recently, the fellow doing the introduction said this -- "Brent is a gentleman farmer. He lives on 50 acres being reclaimed into prairie and woodlands. That mean he raises grass and trees. Now, as I understand it, grass grows on its own. And trees do, too. So he gets to sit and watch them and read books and think deep thoughts. My thought is -- 'That's the kind of farmer I want to be!'"

Everybody chuckled, of course, including me. It was a witty introduction. But part of it nagged at me a bit and I remembered that part whilst working -- that's right, "working" -- the farm this weekend.

Yes, I do fit the stereotype of the city gentleman farmer -- sort of Eddy Albert's Oliver Wendell Douglas character come to life. I grew up in the city and lived mostly in cities or towns until about 5 years ago. Now I still work weekdays in downtown Indianapolis and take care of the farm chores in the evenings and on weekends. I do own a tractor (modern -- not at all like Douglas's antique on "Green Acres") and various implements that get used on it. A flail mower, log splitter, bucket loader, box scraper, and more. And there are the various other implements -- chain saws of various sizes, chains for pulling logs and stumps, a spray tank, a pickup truck, and on and on.

And they all get used -- which is what made me think of that introduction. Yes, the 6,000 trees that have been planted over the last 3 years will grow on their own -- so long as Nancy and I keep them free of weed entanglement and damage from deers who like to munch on tender young shoots or rub the bark of young trees. That means weeding, mowing, and tying strips of dryer fabric softener sheets on each one (the deer hate the scent as much as I do). Let me tell you, that's a lot of cutting and tying.

It also means controlling invasive species -- like bush honeysuckles which takes over a woods and chokes out all new growth and the understory (wildflowers, etc). Hence the chain, chainsaws, and -- gasp -- bush killer herbicide.

The prairie has to be burned to kill off the woody growth and destroy weeds. Some, though, don't seem to mind the fire. So the bazillion thistle rosettes (that's a baby thistle, I've learned) that sprouted after the fire, have to be dealt with. So I've had to learn about herbicides and the effects and choose the most environmentally friendly ones I could find. Thistle is an invasive species in this part of civilized county, so if I don't control it, the county will -- and probably in a way that is less safe than what I use.

All this is to say, that this weekend has been a reflection (driving around spraying weeds or mowing with the tractor gives one a lot of time to think while doing) about the wonders humankind has wrought. One hundred and fifty years ago this land was prairie and woods. Then it became farmland and it's taking a powerful amount of work to restore it to the pristine way it was when God had charge of it. There was no bush honeysuckle here -- humans brought it in because it was pretty. There was no creek erosion on the scale we have now (the West Branch of the White Like Creek that goes though our land has washed out 1/2 acre at minimum of trees and carved itself a new creek bed) because there were no subdivisions with all their rainwater runoff.

I've appreciated, as Earth Day approaches, how many of us are more conscious of ecological stewardship than in the past. But know how much still has to be done. And how much work it is.

Gentleman farmer? Bah. I may not raise money making (or losing) crops -- but I'm working the land God gave us in hopes of being a good steward. And in hopes of spotting a few more wood ducks, deer, bunnies, and even the occasional coyote.

Excuse me now. I've got to pull on my boots and fire up the John Deere -- time to pull some more honeysuckle. "Green Acres is the place to be..."

-- Brent

Sweet Hour of Prayer -- Not! A Bad Christian's Thoughts on Faith

One reason that I am a bad Christian is that I am a bad pray-er. I know that St. Paul says that I should "Pray without ceasing" but I'm more likely to cease without praying. The idea of spending an hour on my knees sends a shiver down my soul -- and probably Jesus's, too. He must know that he'd hear the same thing over and over again. Either, "Thanks, thanks, thanks" or "Please, please, please" or "snore, snore, snore."

I've tried praying the hours. That works so long as I am in a community that is praying the hours and is expecting me to be there. I've tried getting up early (like Luther) or staying up late(like my wife), but neither much works for me. It's not that I don't care for prayer -- it's just that the usual proscribed forms don't work for me.

I known I have much to learn about prayer. Sometimes I feel that my prayers are hitting the ceiling above me and bouncing back down. At other times, I feel that my prayers bring me close to God and feel enfolded in his ever-loving, everliving arms.

What, I wonder, makes the difference? Why is it so easy to connect one time and the next it seems as if all the lines are down? Why can’t prayer be easier? At least for me.

Perhaps it has something to do with how sporadic my prayer life often is. Perhaps it’s because I pray when I feel like it or need something. Perhaps I need to become more intentional in drawing close to the heart of God.

I know that an active prayer life feeds and nourishes my interior life. An active prayer life helps keep my “on the straight and narrow.” As Brother Lawrence wrote 400 hundred years ago, “when we are faithful in keeping ourselves in His holy presence, keeping Him always before us, this … prevents our offending him or doing something displeasing in his sight (at least willfully).”
But an active prayer life does more than keep me from going astray (which I have to admit, I have a tendency to do). For Brother Lawrence continues his thought, saying “[prayer] also brings to us a holy freedom, and if I may say so, a familiarity with God wherein we may ask and receive the graces we are so desperately in need of.”

You see, prayer opens me to the hiddenness within where I become aware of who God is and who I am. Prayer gives me time to focus our thoughts on the important things of life and faith and helps me connect with God.

When I think of that way, I see prayer as a glorious invitation -- an invitation from God to meet with Him. This meeting is not scheduled to take place in a high temple or on a holy hill. Rather it is an invitation to meet God close to his heart.

This is an invitation I often take too lightly. I disregard it because of the busy-ness of my life (and mine is full, to be sure). And there is grave danger in that. As Henri Nouwen said, “it is clear that we are surrounded by so much outer noise that it is hard to truly hear our God when he is speaking to us. We have often become deaf, unable to know when God calls us…”

Communicating is more than keeping the lines open. I may have a phone line that has a telephone answering machine, a fax machine and a modem all in working order. Yet, if I do not use it to call people or send them e-mail to them, I shouldn’t wonder why, when I come home at night, there are no messages waiting for me. I have to reach out and touch someone.
Richard Foster, in his book Prayer, tells his readers that is not the case. Foster says “God has graciously allowed me to catch a glimpse into his heart ... Today the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to him. He grieves that we have forgotten him. He weeps over our obsession with muchness and manyness. He longs for our presence.”

I would do well to remember this as I think about prayer as an invitation. It is first and foremost an invitation to God’s heart. I am called, by faith, not to a life of rules and regulations, but to a relationship with the lover of my soul. A relationship with One who wants me to share with him and who wants to share with me the joyousness of life in the Spirit. Why is it easy to neglect the key to this relationship when I see the obvious peril of doing so in our other relationships?

I have a choice. I can spend time with God in prayer or not. If I do not, I do not just deprive myself of the joy of the life of the Spirit, I also deprive God of joy from spending time with me.

Perhaps that hour of prayer is sweet after all.

-- Brent