Growing Into a Quaker Pastor

On Spiritual Needs and Physical Reminders

2010-02-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

This week I had an allergic reaction that went into anaphylactic shock. I have never had that kind of reaction to anything before, and I had spent the previous month dealing with a bad case of bronchitis. It just dawned on me that I had spent the last month in a state of disconnect from God. I had been trudging along in a funk that had been brought on by some tough interactions and have been feeling abstracted from life in general. Today, before she left for work my wife put on a worship compilation that we had made the year we were married, and it hit me…this is what I was missing: A sense of worshipful awe infusing my day.

When I let myself get caught up in the grind of life and let the joy of worship slack I enter a negative place. That place is characterized by a sense of withdrawal. Yes, I needed some space to heal from some negativity, but I forgot to bring along the healer. Tonight as I listened and sang and danced with my daughter before bed and sat in silent waiting on the ministry of the Spirit I am renewed.

What that means health wise I have no idea, but I am at peace.

School Stuff keeps me busy

2009-04-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it was about this semester, but I always felt behind and overwhelmed. I think there was a lot of distraction between a sick kiddo and a trip to Ecuador, things just didn't fall into a rhythm. One Good thing to come out of this semester is a mission and vision statement. Being a Myers-Briggs type ESFP, made the mission easy and the vision like pulling teeth. I do like the outcome however. Here is my kick butt vision for a Gil future.

My mission is to affirm, call and nurture Gods loving care, value and call in mentorship of people with church communities.
My vision is to live each day well, building relationships in a supportive team that is balanced in personality and has freedom to express opinions, and disagreements with loving respect. My days are full of meeting with people and creating ways for people to become better connected with God and each other. I am in mentoring relationships and encourage others to be mentors. I help people discern their callings and help connect them with the resources they need to live into those callings. When the time comes to plan worship there is a creative team of people who know how to lead people into an attitude of worship. The leadership team is made up of people who balance my gifts of leading and mentoring with an eye to the future and for the organizational details that help foster a safe place to be the community of God. In my home life I am a spouse that grounds our home in the present with an eye towards the special touches that build connectedness and romance. My wife is freed to use her gifts of planning and management and to be a good mom. My wife knows that she is loved and cared for. My daughter has a Dad that is there for all her significant events and knows that her parents see her as having an equal share and value in the family.

There you go. In coming up with this, I was struck by how much God has been present and active. Even through the extremes of grief and loss that we have experienced over the last few years, I feel as though I am the most blessed person on Earth.

Trying to bring Nothing and Everything to times of prayer

2009-02-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

I am engaged in an online discussion in a class called Images of God. In this discussion we talked about how we constantly try to do prayer instead of being prayer.
The insight that came to me was that I often approach my times with God like a business meeting. I have an agenda, a schedule, and a list of things I want to cover. It really struck me that I was missing the whole point of prayer, which is to be in conversation.
Conversation implies a dialogue and presence. In my time among the Friends God has taught me how to listen. To put away my schedule and lists and agenda and just stop, quiet my mind and listen.
I am finding that I am not having a set time of listening, but that being present to God is seeping into my daily routines. And God's presence is seeping into my awareness because I am listening and looking for it. Instead of an empty daily "Business Meeting" I am finding a relationship that happens naturally, with its own rhythms. Instead of making time for God, I am beginning to enjoy life with God as a regular, but not yet constant companion.
Daily times with God have transformed from a chore to having a friend show up to chat.
I still have some structured times with God, but the focus has changed. Instead of trying to follow my agenda I try to come before God with nothing, holding everything out to the light of Christ's presence to be changed. When I am able to do this, any reading that I am led to and any prayer that comes from me is a response to the grace God is showing by being present to me.

Meditations on a Carol and Advent Queries

2008-12-12T19:27:00.001-08:00

In our church last week, we sang the carol O Holy Night. The first verse is the most commonly known, but the other verses speak to our faith in a much deeper way than most carols.

O Holy Night (thanks to Wikipedia)

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, Behold your King.

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

This hymn reminds us that Jesus came not only to free us from the power of sin and death, but from the chains of oppression and slavery. The Gnostic leanings of the modern church that isolate our spirits from our bodies are vigorously opposed in traditional carols and hymns. It is interesting to me that this carol affirms the mission that Jesus proclaimed for himself when he started his ministry.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
      because he has anointed me
      to preach good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
      and recovery of sight for the blind,
   to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19

When Jesus declared this to be his mission, that mission was not only for him, but for those who wished to follow him. He also wasn't speaking spiritually, but was being very literal. The Gnostics were an early heretic group, and the divorce of spiritual from physical was their stock in trade, and what Paul and those who came after him were so angered by. The Gnostics saw the physical as evil and the spiritual as good. Fortunately for us, Jesus did not preach resurrection of the spirit, but resurrection of the body and restoration of creation. What this carol reminds us of is the fact that we are Jesus' partners in bringing that restoration about. We have an opportunity in this holiday season to live into the best traditions of our faith and spend time working on the restoration and reclamation efforts of the kingdom of God. Especially with the fears of an impending depression, we have the chance to carry the light of God into the culture we are in and break the chains of greed that force children to build toys in sweatshops, to release the oppressed and the oppressor both to live healthier lives characterized by concern for each other.

The line in the carol that says "the chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother" is a reminder of the question that Cain asked God "Am I my brother's keeper?" While I think that we know the answer to that question, the question of who our "brother" might be is given a deeper meaning. The slave….. but who is a slave anymore?

We think in terms of our history of slavery, but here in Portland a couple of months ago there was a huge human trafficking bust where many minors were freed. There are children and adults working in unsafe conditions for less than what it takes to survive, let alone thrive all over the third world. That unfortunately is the tip of the iceberg; we aren't even touching on what we call in the US wage slaves.

In our context, especially since I come from a long tradition of opposition to slavery in all its deceptive forms, how do I resist the oppression that I know exists? How do I seek freedom not only for the oppressed, but for the oppressor as well? These are the queries that I am holding in the light in this advent season.

A quick blurb on the "Openness" of God

2008-11-25T00:23:00.000-08:00

In my Christian History and Theology Class, we are wrestling with the Theologies of a classic (Augustinian/Calvinist) view of God's sovereignty and an "Open" view that gives room for free will.
I am going to have to say that I am leaning towards the "openness" perspective at this point. My reasons for this are many, but I am going to share my most personal reasons.
My father was diagnosed in March of 1999 with stage 4b esophageal cancer. Over the course of the following year my father slowly and painfully wasted away and died in March of 2000. In July of 1999 my then fiancee's father was diagnosed with cancer who also slowly and painfully wasted away and died in August of 2000. I cannot believe that a good God wanted two of his faithful servants to suffer in that extreme and cause that degree of pain and horror to rule the lives of their families. Such a God would be evil. If Augustine and Calvin were correct, then I am happy that Jesus suffered and died so that God could at least get a taste of the pain He so freely deals out.

The question to me is an essential character of God issue, and to say that "If God does it, it is good." merely sidesteps the issue of the morality revealed to us. While goodness can seem relative at times, there is a progression and direction towards wholeness and well being of all that is the common element. This evasion is not a valid argument if God's actions go against the direction that we see goodness is working towards.

Small Things and Vision

2008-11-13T00:03:00.000-08:00

“It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.” Mother Theresa

God has been using the readings for my Missional Leadership class to challenge an assumption I had made about myself. The assumption was that I was not a visionary because I didn’t have huge lofty goals that I aspired to, but was focused on building relationships. What I didn’t realize because of my assumption, was that my vision is for better relationships, and isn’t program focused.

The underlying assumption is one that’s about the nature of vision and what vision can and cannot encompass. I see that my assumption was that vision had to be about large scale actions, and not about the little things. I think that I have primarily heard about vision in the macro context, and had never put it together mentally that vision could be about something on an interpersonal level rather than an organizational level.

Micro-visions, sometimes I wonder at God’s patience with me. It has taken me this long to grasp that meaning from the parable of the mustard seed. As I sit in the light of the Spirit, I am being challenged to let go of my assumption that visions can only be large scale.

The Spirit has used Friedman’s book "A Failure of Nerve" to challenge that assumption, and even in some ways has shown me that the vision to improve interpersonal relationships will foster others’ visions and even prove to have larger effects than is readily apparent.

My worldview has been shifted a bit, and I need a lot more processing to figure out all of the ramifications, but one thing I know is that I must now process this vision, and figure out how to articulate it.

Restarting

2008-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

I have been very insane recently. Between work, Pastoring preparing for the birth of our daughter and my wife being put on bed rest, I had some higher priorities then blogging. I will be starting to go to George Fox Seminary in the Fall to get a MA in Ministry Leadership with a focus on Spiritual Direction.

Looking at some discussions that are going on around me, I wanted to post my sermon notes for Easter Sunday this year, in which I share an insight that Jesus' nonresistance, death, and resurrection show us the triumph of peace over violence.

Welcome, and thank you for joining us on this day that we celebrate our victory. Today I would like to share with you the good news that the prince of peace overcame the brutality and violence of death on the cross and rose again. This example that He gave us shows the power of trusting God to work things out, and not relying on our might to get the job done. Jesus had every opportunity to lead a successful rebellion. He had the support of the people as evidenced by his huge following, and the king’s welcome to Jerusalem. The week of the Triumphal Entry, the leaders of the Jews and the Romans were shaking in their shoes.

Because the powerful leaders felt threatened by the crowds, they sent out to arrest Jesus. When Jesus was arrested in the garden, He did not resist with violence, and rebuked his disciple for doing so. Matt 26:50-56 tells us that when Judas came and Judas gave him the kiss of betrayal “Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.”

Jesus’ choice was either to rely on the strength of the crowd and their weapons or to rely on God. The peaceful choice Jesus made was one of obedience to God. Even though this choice leads to true victory, isn’t popular. People don’t want to love their enemies or do good to those who persecute them. Forgiveness is hard work, and doesn’t make sense, at least not to the world’s way of looking at things. The world tells us that we need to defend ourselves and that we can’t trust anyone else to do it for us. The world tells us that trusting God is foolish, and there are even some in the church whose faith is not strong enough to believe that God will protect them, their families or the faith.

Missionaries like my brother and sister in-law defy what the world says is safe. Their willingness to go where God leads them with their children is a statement of trust in God that we need to remember as an example. We should be thanking our missionaries for reminding us that God is in charge, and that His way, even though it leads through the valley of the shadow of death, will not only see us to the other side of that valley, but see us triumphant on the other side.

As I said the way of peace will not win Christians any popularity contests. When Pilate gave the crowd the choice of the Prince of Peace or the murderous rebel, who was as apt to kill Jews as Romans, to be released they chose the murderous rebel. Violent rebellion made sense to the Jews who were suffering under the yoke of brutal Roman oppression. They wanted to strike back and overthrow the Romans. That is a natural response. Jesus’ way didn’t make sense to them. Our way as Friends who follow Jesus doesn’t make sense to the world either. Our choice to work peacefully for change doesn’t make sense. Our choice to not use the weapons of this world doesn’t make sense, unless you are coming from the perspective of faith. If you come from the perspective of faith, then you know that “ALL things work together for the good of those who serve the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” You know that “If God is for me then no one can stand against me.” If you come from the perspective of faith, then obedience to the teachings of Jesus leads to victory, even if those teachings don’t seem to make sense right now from our human perspective.

Jesus’ perspective was that of God. He saw that violence would not bring about God’s kingdom, or God’s way of being and doing what is right. He saw that everyone, even soldiers sent to arrest Him, bore the image of God, and could be reconciled to God. Jesus taught His disciples to accept and live in the forgiveness of God and to extend that forgiveness even in the face of the worst man could do. Jesus could face rejection and humiliation and brutal torture while being able to say “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” because he knew that faith in and obedience to God always leads to victory. Let me repeat that: Faith in and obedience to God always leads to victory. Jesus’ command to “love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us” will always lead to victory. If Jesus was willing to die rather than justly lash out at the Romans, how could it be right for us to lash out with violence, no matter what the justification?

Jesus is our example, an example that each one of us desires to live into, and fails miserably at. I long to live in peace, and to have people wonder if I am crazy to believe that I don’t need to own a gun, and that I do not need to use violence in any form be it verbal, emotional or physical to protect myself or my family. Well, let me be frankly honest …I am not there yet. While the violence from me tends to be more of the sarcastic kind, that doesn’t make it any less damaging. The hard thing for us is that Jesus set the bar so high. Jesus example is one that we can’t live into without the active living presence of the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit is active in the lives of every human being we encounter, no matter what they choose to believe or how they choose to act. The Holy Spirit can still use our different actions to jar others into listening to Him. If we are no different than the world around us, what conscience would the world have?

The world will tell us that we are failures and cowards for not participating in violence. The world will tell us that peace, mercy, love and forgiveness don’t make sense. Well, let me read to you what the outcome of love, peace, mercy and forgiveness is John 20:10-23 Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her. On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Peace is with us, and that peace will withstand all of the brutality and violence and pettiness and mean-spiritedness thrown at it. The ways of evil may seem to work for a short time, but evil’s victories will always be short-lived and in hindsight those “victories” will be known as the very things that led to its downfall.

Finale

2007-08-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

The last two days went really well. In the morning, the clerk did an excellent job dealing with a situation that came out of some leadings from some of the areas. There was a proposal from the Administrative Committee that was unclear in many minds, so he sent off those interested to reword it. They brought it back on Thursday and it was a well crafted policy. It will be visible in the Proposal for Area Church Minutes in the Minutes that will be posted on the http://www.nwfriends.org website. Also on Wednesday the representative from Evangelical Friends Mission really touched off a bit of a firestorm with some harsh seeming remarks to some people who were being persecuted in Bangladesh. A group of us were led to draft a minute of support and I posted it below.

July 25, 2007

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Bangladesh,

We have heard of your faithfulness and stand with you in the dangers you are facing. We affirm our love for you and also our material support through EFM. While we know you may suffer for your faithfulness, we also believe your witness to Christ, in submission to God, could further His Kingdom in ways beyond our knowing. We have been challenged to be willing to suffer for Christ, if required by the truth, because of your courage and example. May God be glorified in your witness and faithfulness; we stand with you in your time of trial.

As one body we offer first our loving prayers. Though great distance separates us, we are close, even one, through Jesus. You are not alone! We commit our voices, alongside yours, to our Lord Jesus.

Secondly, we would like to encourage you to live Christ’s teaching to love your enemies and do good to those who are persecuting you. (Matthew 5:44) We will continue to pray for you and your persecutors. Our prayers are that your Christlike example will convict the hearts of your persecutors and that Christ’s peace will rest upon you regardless of your current trials. We would also like to remind you of the faithfulness of Jesus to restore us even when we fall, and know that we are praying for your brothers and sisters who have fallen away through this persecution.

As a final word of encouragement, “May the Lord make your love overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His Holy Ones.” I Thessalonians 3:12-13

With Love and Hope,

Your Brothers and Sisters in Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends

200 N. Meridian Street, Newberg, OR 97132 USA

That was an awesome collaborative effort. We who worked on it felt the Spirit guiding us with words of comfort.

The finale on Thursday was the celebration banquet. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and were encouraged by the Superintendent's closing address. I enjoyed getting to meet folks, and am already looking forward to next year.

Days 2 and 3

2007-07-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

I was going to post last night, but got in way too late.
Day 2 was the first day of business meetings. I appreciated the time to worship that was included. There was a bit of a Taize element to it, which I am not entirely in to, but it was deal able with. We had some visitors from Canada Yearly Meeting, Philly Yearly Meeting, Pacific Yearly Meeting and the Friends World Committee on Consultation. I was pretty happy to see visitors from Unprogrammed Friends, it is good that we rebuild some of the relationships that have for whatever reason lapsed. After the introductions we spent some time centering using a combination of silence, music, and readings. Personally, I have been so opened to silence recently that I would have actually preferred an absence of the music and readings. It is amazing how much I have grown in this area.
In the meeting we talked about about the incredibly dull yet important budget and the new staffing ideas for better focus on our leadings in ministry.
What was really exciting and took place over the rest of the day's session and most of the following, were presentations by the new boards about their ministry plans and priorities. It was good to see some excitement being raised about doing work and an eagerness to go try the plans out.
I attended a couple of workshops in the afternoon on Monday, one about using RSS feeds, and another to meet and hear from the Board of Local Outreach, It combines parts of the old Boards of Evangalism and the Board of Peace and Social concerns) the idea behind these Boards being combined is that we need to minister to both the spiritual and temporal, and that the one cannot be healthily divorced from the other.
On Tuesday afternoon, I met with Colin Saxton, our Yearly Meeting Superintendent, to talk about how I was doing in my pastorship and how I was holding up. We had a great conversation that helped me clarify my sense of call. I also met with the Board of Leadership Development about my Recording Process. I came into the meeting a bit frustrated with the process, and I think the meeting started out a bit on the wrong foot. I kind of feel sorry for the Board as they are having to reinvent the process a bit. I think that we ended the time well, with a greater understanding of the process. I am still dealing with residual frustration from the past communication issues, but that is normal, frustrations take time to work themselves out and I am looking forward to partnering with the new board as we move forward with what I hope will be a nurturing and learning time for us. I genuinely see that the folks I met with want to equip me to the best of their ability to lead a church after the manner of Friends.
So if any of you read this, know that while I may be a little frustrated with the process, I do see and appreciate the effort that you are putting in to help all of us in the recording process grow.
The business meetings have been an awesome view into the way God can work through his people when their minds and hearts are open to him.

Yearly Meeting Day One

2007-07-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

Day one of the yearly meeting sessions was interesting. Things were a bit less organized then I had expected them to be. The registration tables were closed between 3:30 and 8:30, so I was on my own a bit for figuring out what was going on. With the help of a nice guy from Friendsview Manor, I found where I was supposed to go.

The Representative’s pre-meeting was a preview of what was to come. There are some issues that should cause sparks to fly. There seems to be some language ambiguities that could lead to undue centralization of power. That will cause some lively discussion.

The other big event was the keynote speech by Colin Saxton, the yearly meeting Superintendent. The speech was translated into Spanish, as some of our Spanish congregations were represented this year. It was a little clumsy, but well meaning and I think that our Latino brothers and sisters were honored. The main thrust of the speech was that the planning for change was ending and that the implementation began after this. He then talked a lot about fear, and reminded everyone of all those scriptures that say fear not. I think that Colin got his point across, but I don’t know if everybody was in synch with change as a good thing.

After the speech I finally got registered so I am ready to face the sessions tomorrow. The ice cream social was enjoyable. Ice cream is good when it is 80 degrees and humid. I finally met the other Gil George, and we enjoyed a good discussion about the ribbing we had received.

All told it was a good day. See you all tomorrow,

Is this what it is like to try to sleep in Baghdad?

2007-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the distance between posts, it has been a very rough time for my wife and I, so many things had to be laid aside so that we could begin to recover from our losses. My wife's older sister was killed in a car wreck, and two good friends of ours from the L'Arche community passed away, in addition to that there have been some other losses to us. The essay below came to me tonight, and I had to share it.

As I lay in my bed trying to sleep through the overwhelming din of fireworks, I wonder to myself if this is what it is like in Baghdad every night?

I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to consider this question. In obedience I did and the explosions that I heard took on a different feeling and meaning, every boom and pop possibly meaning another person dying. What a fearful thing it must be to hear the loud crumps and rapid pops and wonder if your house will be hit next. As I hear a series of pops across the street I flinch from the images my imagination provides me. My heart is deeply saddened as I feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit rise within me as I lay listening and wishing I could close my ears. As my neighbors let off their screamer rockets, I hear in my mind the screams of the dying and my conscience is pricked and my heart is broken. What is an inconvenience for me before a workday has become a leading and conviction from Jesus. This is what it is like to try to sleep in Baghdad!

Dear God, what have we wrought? I don’t know what I can do to end this madness, but as I lay and hear the pounding sounds that don’t seem to end I know that doing nothing is no longer an option. I cannot let this continue without raising my voice. I can no longer stay silent while others live fear-filled lives waiting for violent death to come to them.

God forgive me, for I have been silent when I should have spoken.

First Advent Season as a Pastor

2006-12-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

As I am coming into this advent season, I have been drawn to the way everything that happened in the recorded chain of events around Christmas doesn't make a whole lot of sense. First that the vessel God chose to bear his son was an unwed poor teenager. Regardless of how she felt, I'm sure Mary didn't say anything to her neighbors about angels or God. Actually, it looks in the text like she ran away to stay with her cousin for a few months. In addition to that at the time of his birth Jesus, Mary and Joseph were homeless. Like many homeless, they were not welcome in the inn, but could stay with the animals away from the normal folk. The people who the angels appeared to were the people the rest of society didn't like, shepherds who were not welcome in the towns because of previous anti-social behavior. The modern day equivalent would be angels appearing to street corner drug dealers. This anti-normal pattern reminds me to treat respectfully and with honor the modern day pregnant teens, homeless, and "small time" criminals. It reminds us that God holds dear the people on the margins of society. As Quakers we speak of "That of God" in everyone, but I don't always do a good job at looking for it. This Advent season, I feel the Spirit reminding me that God is at work in every life, it is only for me to open my eyes instead of shifting my gaze away nervously.

May your Holiday season be filled with warmth and cheer and reminders of God's presence in all that you come in contact with.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Gil George

Starting to get a feel for things

2006-11-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

Now that I have been the pastor of a church for a couple of months, I am starting to learn about some areas that I need growth in. The main one is in planning and using a scheduler of some sort. My wife, who has a very organized mind does the planning/ scheduling thing naturally, while I have tended to be a fly by the seat of my pants kind of guy. What I have found is that with the limited time that I have, I have to organize it better so that I am using the time I have to bring pastoral support to the church. My qualms stem from not wanting to organize the Holy Spirit out of the picture. I don't want to be serving my day planner. So I am struggling with the idea of holding my schedule lightly.
This idea of holding something lightly is a very Quaker concept and stems from what are called "Meetings for Clearness". Meetings for clearness are held to discern God's will in a given area, and to hold something lightly is to permit God to do what He wills with the decision/object/idea/person that you are in discernment over.
So getting better organized is something that I am needing to grow in.
I have also initiated a discernment process in the Meeting to figure out what God's call on us in our community is. We know that we have been placed in the neighborhood we are in for something more than meeting on Sundays. What I am trying to lead the Meeting in is a direction for addressing the concerns, needs, and dreams of our neighbors. I am looking forward to seeing how this process plays out over the next few months.
The evening service has been a source of life for me. I feel the ability to receive from the Holy Spirit more than in the mornings since the mornings are more dependent on the proclamational gifts of Pastorship.
God Bless,
Pastor Gil

1 month in

2006-10-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Sorry for the length of time between posts, but whooo! How busy life gets. I have started as Pastor at McKinley Hill Friends Church, and am trying to get to know the neighborhood the church is in better, I have started off an evening service that I am very excited about. The service starts off with some music, then goes into a time of silent prayer where we release our cares and concerns, then we have some contemplative music, then a Lectio Divina which is a time where you read a scripture passage twice and then have a time of silence (3-5 min) and ask What word or phrase jumped out at you? Then repeat the reading and silence and ask what image, poem, song, or memories has the passage triggered? Then repeat the reading and silence and ask what action do you feel called to?

It went really well, and I felt nourished in the times of silence. I have had a chance to meet with some of the long term participants in the church, and have asked the church to start praying about a vision and direction for the church, and I fully expect the Holy Spirit to work through those prayers as we come together to discern God's will for us.

Being Called

2006-08-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

I have been informed by McKinley Hill Friends Church that they would like me to officially be their pastor.
I still very much see myself as in a development stage, but think am starting to feel that God is opening this opportunity as the next step in my development. As of right now I am feeling that this is what God is calling me to. I must definitely admit to having some fears about this. I have been told that this meeting is very resistant to change, and I definitely tend to be an agent of change at times.
I personally have not experienced this resistance that has been described to me, but I feel a sense of flexibility in the body that I haven't seen in many places.
The people there seem to be very prayerful, and I think that if I can encourage them in that, then change can flow from their connection to the Holy Spirit in a more natural way that stems not solely from the visions of men, but from discerning the will of God. I have been spending some time in solitude while my wife is at class, silently waiting on God, and I feel a sense of energy and light when I consider what the future may hold at McKinley Hill.
Some of my challenges are more technological in nature, as the meeting doesn't have a web site or e-mail addresses. There is a phone and fax machine, but as you can tell by my blogging, I appreciate the connections that arise from the internet.
The most important aspect to me are the people of the meeting. There are some who definitely possess leadership abilities that I hope will be ready to mentor others as they are drawn in. There are some very talented musicians, and some people who instinctively live into hospitality. There are some bumps in the road that I can see coming, but for a first pastorate I think that there are some important lessons that the Holy Spirit will teach me through the people of McKinley Hill.

This post is mainly just random processing, so sorry if it wasn't very well organized. This is very much a reflection of my current thought patterns around this time of calling.

Grace and Peace,

Gil George

Sermons, Sermons and more Sermons

2006-05-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all, Things are moving along. I am in the middle of an awesome book called "Slavery, Sabbath, War and Women" the book takes a look at the theological arguments around these issues, and analyzes the way each side uses the bible. This is a very insightful book, and has helped me understand the way I look at the bible, and has shown me some of the flaws in my approach. Really cool. I am now preaching twice a month at McKinley Hill Friends Church, a little church that is between pastors. The cool thing about having to come up with a sermon is that you get to look at scripture in depth. The funny thing is that I found myself over-analyzing scripture, and noticing other over-analysis. For example, today I preached on John 2:1-12. There is a passage in there where Jesus' mom asks him to work a miracle in the middle of a party. Jesus replies with a Now isn't the time, Why are you trying to get me involved? The insight I had is that Jesus was just saying, like any guy at a party when his mom interrupts and asks him to do something, "But Mom, can't you see I'm busy?" Nothing profound, just somebody in normal life, but because Jesus said it, people started trying to read more into it then He probably intended. But I have been doing a lot of preaching lately, and am starting to get into a groove in sermon writing.

Have a great Day,

Gil

Mentoring

2006-04-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Now that I have made it out the other side of the interview, I am meeting with Pastor Mark Kelley from Vancouver. Him and I are meeting and working together on my development in preaching, education and team leadership. I have been preaching at my home church http://www.ovfc.org, and at McKinley Hill Friends Church in South Tacoma.
In education, I am reading Slavery, Sabbath, War and Women by Willard Swartley, and it is looking pretty interesting. It is an interesting examination of how the dominant culture of our time can influence the way we approach and interpret the Bible. I have had experience in team leadership, and am waiting for an opportunity to continue developing as a leader, but don't want to force something since I know that God will provide the correct opportunity in His time. My next post will be about the book I am reading, and what insights I am gaining about what I am bringing in the way of preconceived notions to the bible and my faith.

Grace and Peace,

Gil

Whew!! The interview is done

2006-01-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a good interview with the Board of ministerial service. I was asked to tell my story, and in the interest of time, I told my story by mental process, through significant events, and through spiritual events. The board asked me some questions about education, like what I was doing now, what my plans for the future are,etc. I told them about my school attempts, and that I am enrolled in a community college, and that I would like to continue my education at least to masters level, but that I need to stay focused on the present steps to achieving that goal. They asked me some questions to get to know me better, and I came out of the meeting feeling that the board had my spiritual development at heart, and they made me feel welcomed and honored.

Interview and sermon prep

2006-01-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

At the end of this month I am meeting with the Board of Ministerial service for an interview based around the questions I answered previously in this post and for them to grill me a bit on my beliefs and all that fun stuff. I am looking forward to this meeting, but I wonder what the board is thinking about my somewhat other than normal answers.

Other than that I have had an opportunity to preach recently, and was drawn to "The Lord's Prayer" as a good sermon for the new year. I felt led to delve into it a bit more deeply than the usual drive-by praying of it that usually happens. I also delved into one of my favorite pastimes which is song parody, and added a brief parody of what is really going through our head when we sing "I Surrender All."

You can listen to it at Olympic View Friends Church
The preparation was a little intense for this one, as my computer was down, and I had to do my research mainly in paper form. I learned that I can still do it well, but I am grateful for how much faster research can be done with good software, and the internet at your disposal.

As I was walking home from church on Sunday from our worship planning team meeting, the creative juices were still flowing. We had been discussing how the church was positively responding to some of the worship music where we took a hymn and swapped it's chorus with a modern worship chorus that fit. One of the hymn suggestions for the next week was "Trust and Obey", and if ever there was a hymn that could use a stronger chorus, that's one. What I came up with was to attach the Gospel chorus "I'll say Yes, Lord, Yes" to "Trust and Obey". After doing some looking with my wife, both songs were in F, so we didn't have to figure out chords or transpose anything.
It was really cool how that worked out, and I can only thank God for the bolt of inspiration that struck.

I'm genuinely enjoying the leadership roles that I am increasingly finding myself in, and am sometimes wondering if another shoe is going to drop, but I think I am learning about what Christ meant when He said "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Labors are easier when you enjoy what you are doing.

Grace and Peace,

Gil

Personal Thoughts on why some of the questions made me angry

2005-11-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

After going through the questions, and really having to think about what I believe, I started to start asking myself what it was about some of the questions that got me angry. The one about family especially set me off, but it wasn't the only one.

I think that what really was occurring was a reaction to the negative experiences that I have had with church folk when these issues come out of the realm of theory, and into reality. Believe it or not I know all the pat, Christianese answers to the questions that were asked. I also have seen those pat answers' complete breakdown in the face of reality.

In the question about homosexuality, I was angry not because I am for or against, but because there are human-beings that are not being treated with the love that God has treated us. Every time I hear the more fractious arguments being beaten like the dead horses they are, I can't help but think of the parable of the merciless debtor.

Matt 18:23-35
23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
NIV

I think that we suffer a lot from what's called in the hood I grew up in: forgettin' where ya came from. Before any of us come down hard on someone else, I think we need to first remember where we came from, and how Jesus came to meet us. I don't think that where you are currently at in your spiritual journey is as important as the direction that journey is headed in, and how far on that journey you are willing to go.

I think that we are missing a lot of opportunities to grow in our faith, and to grow our faith, because we are afraid of the differences that we are going to encounter. It is much easier to insulate ourselves from the world around us than it is to engage the culture and look for the glory and presence of God outside of the walls of our church culture.

OK, time for bed and an end to the rant.

Grace and Peace,

Gil

The last of the questions

2005-10-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

The first question here really rubbed me the wrong way. After thinking about it for a bit I think that the right-wing [really annoying people] have tried to ram this "kirche und kinder" [stuff] down our throats, and I responded with some anger at what I felt were the underlying assumptions to some of the questions that were asked. I ended the response with what I felt was the reality of the North-American vision of what "home" was. I do believe that our living space, and what we put into it and the amount of time spent maintaining it and the stuff in it can become an idol, and that idolatry is encourage by the society around us. I feel like the Christian American Dream is just the secular American dream with a little fish stamped on the corner.

20. What do you feel is the importance of the home in the Christian scheme of things?
I am not sure I understand the question. Do you mean the home as an institution, as a concept, my home, your home? By the Christian scheme of things do you mean the middle class white suburban Christian scheme of things or do you mean the lower class ghettos of the Third World Christian scheme of things?

The home means different things to different cultures, and they each partake of the image of God and the sinful nature. It is our job to remember that our Savior didn’t have a home. “Foxes have their dens and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” And to carefully examine our homes and concepts of home for divergence from His Kingdom’s culture.

The home, as I have felt called to live into it, is a place where rest, nurture and hospitality occur. I think that other people may be called to live a home life that looks different than mine, for example not everyone has the gift of hospitality.

The home can be an important place, but can also become an idol that takes our attention off of God.

21. What vital elements, in your understanding, are necessary to sustain and nourish
one’s own spiritual life?
Prayer, study, prayer, times specifically set apart for being alone with God, being involved in the mission of the church, did I mention prayer? Seriously, our relationship with God requires a great deal of intentionality. If we wish for that relationship to grow we must invest the same things that we would in any other relationship based on deep love.

22. How does your loyalty to Christ relate to your commitment to Friends?
Christ has called me to be committed to the part of His body called the Friends. After reading the teachings of the Friends I have found that in reality I have always been a Friend, I just didn’t always know it.

Next few very controversial questions

2005-10-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

Now we are getting into the meaty questions. In a couple of weeks, I am going to be interviewed, and expect my responses to these questions to be questioned more deeply.

16. What are your convictions in the area of Stewardship?
There are two areas of stewardship that need to be constantly relearned.
1) Money – My wife and I spend time every month going over our budget for the next month. We budget for our responsibilities, bills, gas, tithes, food etc. After we determine our responsibilities we also budget for savings. We usually have between $300 and $600 left after those things. We budget about $60 for dates and $40 for fun, then I pray and ask God who needs the rest, and we give it to who God leads us to.

2) Time – Nothing tells you your priorities like looking at your schedule. “Am I using the time that I have in the way God has called me to?” is the question that I ask, and struggle with. I am doing much better, but finding a balance between the responsibilities God has given me and my need for rest is a difficult task.

17. How would you state your own position in regard to the respect for human life?
I believe that human life is a gift from God. I strive for a consistent ethic that affirms the sanctity of life. I firmly believe that being concerned with life goes beyond the question of existence to “Do I in my actions and words affirm the image of God carried in every human being?”

18. What does it mean for you that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
I should decorate it better. Seriously though, I think that we can very easily abuse our bodies in the name of getting God’s work done. I am not in the greatest physical shape ever, and I have come to see that when I am not healthy and taking good care of my body I am not as able to do the work that I am called to well.
We are set apart for the work of God, and we need to care for our bodies well.

19. What do you think should be the contemporary Christian witness to human
sexuality in the light of Scripture and the current debate?
I think that the Church needs to have a consistent witness to sexual ethics. I think the church is getting caught up in a pointless debate, of course the accepted lifestyles of our culture are not Godly! Welcome to the way things have always been. How is it such a shock that the people who come to church are sinners in need of a hospital? We have a lot of plank/speck stuff going on right now. Is the church just as vocal about ALL forms of extramarital sex and pornography? I think our best witness is to treat every person who walks through the doors of our churches the same way Jesus treated us when He first met us.

Now for the Fun Questions

2005-09-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Now we get "controversial" and I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed coming up with these. PS These are my actual, slightly toned down, opinions and beliefs.

13. How do you understand, and respond to the traditional Quaker testimony in the
area of war and peace?
I wholeheartedly agree with it. The goal of the kingdom of God is to bring all people into a reconciled relationship with God. It is really hard to reconcile dead people. Seriously though, Jesus teaches us that we are to love our enemies, not just personal enemies, but our cultural, social and societal enemies as well. Jesus had every opportunity to drive the oppressive Romans into the sea, but instead said “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”

14. In what ways do you think the church should witness to justice (race, gender,
political and economic discrimination)?
The church should be in the forefront, welcoming those who have been treated unjustly directly into their hearts, homes and power structures. We should also not support the unjust actions of others, not financially, not through our actions nor through our inactions.

15. What is Christ’s call to simplicity? Integrity of speech and behavior?
The call to simplicity is not about things, but about intentions. Every time Christ talks about things, He does something interesting. He changes the subject. In doing this Christ is telling us that things are not what is important, our focus is. If we focus too much on things, either in their presence or absence, we lose sight of what our true focus is to be. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” The things will come and go, but if our focus on on doing God’s will, then we will be living the essence of the simplicity of Christ.

We are called to be ambassadors to the world. That means we do what other ambassadors do. We embody the best of God’s kingdom to the people we are around. We must weigh the words that come from our mouths to see that they communicate the correct impression of our King. Our actions will speak with more power than our words ever will, so even more than our words we must think about the impression of the kingdom that our actions will give.

Seven, Eight, Nine

2005-08-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here are the next. A few notes on the Friends' testimonies concerning baptism and communion. The only baptism recognized by Friends as needed is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Communion is not viewed as a ritual, but as a life style exemplified by concern and care for one another.

7. How do you relate to the historic Friends testimonies on baptism and communion?
I relate very well to them. I agree that outward ritual may not be indicative of an inward reality, and that the inward reality is of paramount importance. In my own personal experience, outward ritual can too often mean absolutely nothing to the people participating in it.

8. What is your doctrine of the church?
The Church is the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in this world. We must all work together, using the gifts we have been given to build God’s kingdom. We are called together by God for His purposes, and are his agents of reconciliation to the world. It is our duty as the Church to bring healing and wholeness to all of those around us. We are called to love each other as Christ loved us. We are imperfect, and the way we approach being the church is also imperfect because of that. In spite of our imperfections God still uses us, and through the Holy Spirit’s leadings draws us closer to God’s way of doing things. As ambassadors to the world, it is our job to live in the world and be living invitations to the world into the changed way of life that is the Kingdom of God.

9. How do you understand “the kingdom of God,” present and future? How do you
understand heaven? The final judgment? Hell?
I understand “the Kingdom of God” as a historical force, a present reality and a future fulfillment. The Kingdom is our first allegiance as Christians. We need to remember that we have a king and that his orders are not “suggestions”. The present working out of the kingdom occurs in every interaction we have with those around us. As we “aliens” travel through this world, our actions need to point to our true home, to point to a different model of interaction. Even though the kingdom is not fully here, it is our duty to treat our fellows as if it were.

Heaven is the unseen portion of reality where God dwells. How that intersects with here I don’t know, and what it will look like later I am not really that interested in, because I’ll find out eventually, and I wouldn’t want to deprive God of the joy of the surprise I will feel when I get there.

The final judgment is described by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46
The best description of Hell that I can come up with is the complete absence of the presence of God. The torments that are undergone have their source in that basic lack.

Next Questions

2005-07-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here are the next few questions.

4. What is your understanding of the purpose and nature of Scripture? How does
Scripture influence your life?

The scripture is the Holy Spirit inspired word of God. It is how we come to learn about God. The scriptures chronicle the interaction and patterns of interaction of God in human history. By examining these past patterns we can better understand how God is working now.
The scriptures are a faithful companion on my journey of faith. The Holy Spirit teaches through them, and they have helped me through the hardest times of my life. The scriptures are such an awesome gift to us, and I am greatly appreciative of their insight into life today. Their depth and density give me new insights every time I read them.

5. How would you describe the Fall in terms of humanity’s need for salvation?
What is Christ’s role in our redemption?

The fall was the gateway into disobedience and dishonesty. The entire human race plunged headfirst through that gate, and raced in to this new seemingly powerful place. We didn’t pay attention to the way we came, so can’t find our way back to the way things are supposed to be. How often have I heard the question “How did I get here?” or “How did things go so far?”
Jesus comes in and breaks the chains that we have bound ourselves with. He then shows us the way back to obedience and a life of integrity. It is only through Jesus sacrifice that a way back into God’s grace could occur. Justice had to happen, but the only one who could satisfy that justice for all of us is God himself.

6. What is your understanding of justification and sanctification? The “Baptism of the
Holy Spirit” means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?

Justification is the satisfaction of God’s justice that occurs when we acknowledge our inability to save ourselves and accept the sacrifice God made for us in Jesus. Sanctification is the lengthy process of change that begins with justification and ends with our deaths. This change is from who are into who we are meant to be. The more we accept the changes God makes to us through the Holy Spirit, the closer we come to our intended state of being.
The “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” is the birth of our souls. This is the point when the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. Some births are spectacular and some are quiet and easy, but each birth is a momentous occasion when someone becomes truly alive.

Statement of Faith

2005-07-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

One of the things I have been asked to do is come up with a statement of faith. The Board of Ministerial Service gave me a questionnaire with 22 questions on it. My next few posts will include some of the questions and my answers to them. I am very open to discussion around them, and would like to hear some of your answers to them. If you desire clarification on any of these points, ask.

Thanks,

Gil George

1. What is your understanding of God:

I would have to say that my understanding of God is very limited. I have times in my life where I think I understand more, but mostly I realize that after 20 or 30 thousand years I will still have only scratched the surface.

The bible says that God is love, but I think that we as humans don’t have the ability to grasp the fullness of what that means. A love so unconditional that has been and is self-sacrificing for the good of the other is at times beyond my understanding, and I wonder that God has not decided to repeat in a different way what he did in the days of Noah.

God is fully active in His creation. He has not set something in motion, then uncaringly stepped back to watch it wind down to its end. He is engaging and directing human history and culture to come closer to Him. There is resistance, but that is God’s plan and His final goal and He can not be thwarted.

God is a victorious God. The people of God have nothing to fear in this life. Since God has defeated the greatest enemy, it is now our jobs to take back all that was and is lost, and bring it to its rightful place again. There are some that do not know they are lost, but the Holy Spirit is faithful to open the right doors in people’s minds.

2. Who is Jesus Christ? What is your understanding of the Trinity? The atonement?

Jesus is the Son of God and part of the trinitaic community that makes up the one God that is in three parts. Wrapping my mind around the Trinity has been rather difficult, and some of the books I have read on the subject have not made things much clearer. The closest I have come in my understanding is that God the Father is the masculine manifestation of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is the Feminine aspect of the God head, and Jesus is the Childlike physical manifestation of the God head. That is a way oversimplification of their respective roles, but some hints of this family-like structure of the Trinity are spread throughout the Old and
New Testaments, most notably in Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
The reality is that my understanding of the Trinity is woefully inadequate of the reality, but that’s the best I can do with the mind I’ve got.

The atonement is the most wonderfully crazy, from a human perspective, doctrine in the church. That the most powerful being in the universe would love His creation so much that he would fully experience the life of a lower class Jew during a reign of brutal oppression, and in addition to that permit Himself to be unjustly accused and murdered so that even the people who killed Him could experience the forgiveness of God, goes against the grain of how power and God have each been perceived. That Jesus rose again proves the efficacy of His forgiveness and His Godhood.

3. How do you understand the work of the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the organizer / ringleader of the people of Christ. The Spirit gives us the gifts and talents we need to accomplish the tasks that are set for us. The Spirit is our source of comfort and power, and is our intercessor with God the Father. The Holy Spirit speaks to our inmost being, and changes us to conform more to the image of God that is stamped on us. The Holy Spirit is also at work in the world preparing people’s, who do not believe, hearts to hear the message of the Good News of the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit gives us insights into the lives of those around us, and into ourselves. The holy Spirit is the one who gives us the words to say when it is time to defend our faith. Luke 11:11-12 11"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."

Why am I here?

2005-07-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

This blog exists to share and discuss what I am learning about the Friends' pastoral recording process. There are some interesting things I have learned as I have started this journey, and I am loking to foster healthy discussion. If you are looking to positively interact, you are welcome here. If you are looking for a target for your vitriol, look somewhere else, these are not the droids you are looking for. My next post will go into how this process got started.

I decided to Blog about this, as a tool, not only for ease of communication with the interested people, but also to hear from people who stumble across this blog, and challenge myself to communicate my ideas adequately.

I hope you enjoy reading this.

Gil George