Connecting God with Everyday Life

If you’ve been to 11:00 a.m. Sunday worship (in the sanctuary) of First Presbyterian Church, Fayetteville, TN, lately, you’ve probably noticed the rubric in the bulletin and observed one or the other of our pastors practice “Connecting God with Everyday Life.” There’s more to this than meets the eye. On the surface it may seem only like a replacement for what we used to call “Time with the Younger Church.”

In a somewhat joking manner, on the occasions of baptism and Communion, I have suggested, “”Don’t try this at home.” because these two (Sacraments) are communal events that are to be observed within the context of corporate worship. Beyond these two (baptism & Communion), I can think of no other worship practice that carries this warning. In fact, we are strongly encouraged to practice the rest of our worshipful ways throughout all of our lives.

The same goes for the practice of connecting God with everyday life—maybe even doubly so. Finding God and connections to the sacred in everyday life are much more than a game. They are important parts of what forms and transforms us as people of faith. If our faith thoughts and faith actions are limited to what we do on Sunday mornings and other special occasions, we miss the joyful opportunity to integrate our faith into the rest of our week and life. We miss the chance to revel in God’s ordinary gifts.

In Ordinarily Sacred, Lynda Sexson writes:
My son once found the hip-bone of a large cow. He wore it as a stately garment or as armor; he played the bone like a guitar or played himself in the bone like a dinosaur. He circulated his interest upon the bone back into his discovery of it in the woods, to the being who had walked it before abandoning it, to the shape and feel of it, to hanging it on the wall and looking at it and the shadows it cast. And the bone was transformed—quite beyond the original fragment of decay in the woods—into images of everything from death to art.

I have a drawer that is filled with things that I have collected over the years—simple and ordinary things that fascinate me. I would like to believe that these things offer me an opportunity to appreciate the glory and diversity of both God’s creation and human invention. The latter stems from the former.

What’s in your collection?

© 2010 Todd Jenkins

Rehab

(for all of those facing therapy)

Its prefix indicates a do-over;
visiting something again.
Habitat is in the root:
“finding the house” again.

“Here is where I live”
more like “how”
with my movement and
all skills and abilities.

Back to the basics,
body gardening at its best;
starting over from the seed,
working up to bloom and fruit.

Focus and energy required,
intensity a determining factor;
range of motion rebuilt,
atrophied muscles rebound.

Goals, rewards help keep
chin up, perspective balanced.
Smile of satisfaction beams,
simplicity wins again.

Every day is house-hunting,
rehabbing one way or another;
for maps, courage, direction
we give you thanks, O Lord.

© 2010 Todd Jenkins

Hope and Help

Moment Magnitude a feeble attempt
at bringing order—or at least measurement
to catastrophic release of seismic energy
that leaves our planet’s surface
a teeming pile of chaotic disaster.

What used to be organized construction:
beams, bricks and blocks
architecturally designed and shaped,
now precariously piled randomly
as if no one ever planned or cared at all.

Creole-speaking masses with
little or no slice of the economic pie
felt and saw their frail abodes
collapse into nothingness as if
earth issued eviction notices.

In the face of death and deprivation,
with whatever makeshift tools they find
hot, hungry, thirsty, traumatized folk
dig for life like there’s no tomorrow
because for too many there isn’t.

Grant that hope and help
may feed one another and, together,
keep the world focused on
Haiti’s rubble-rousing and reconstruction
until dignity builds her permanent dwelling.

© 2010 Todd Jenkins

Mission's Meal

As cultures, economies, faiths,
and people’s lives intertwine
in this ever-shrinking world,
inequity of circumstances and resources
inevitably weaves a fragile tapestry.

Warp threads extend vertically,
from earth to heaven,
stretching to connect
creation and holy hope;
declaring independence and worth.

Woof threads span horizontally,
from person to person, life to life,
drawing us together as family,
posing questions of abundance, scarcity,
exposing interdependence as two-way street.

Respect is invited to the table
as stories, faith, lives are shared,
understanding supplants judgment,
trust trumps angst and fear,
all hunger for God’s sustenance.

Sustainability must be addressed
from both directions simultaneously,
mine & yours, ours & theirs.
How can we both live and serve
with what we have and haven’t?

Dignity becomes a possibility
when resources are controlled
by those who have a need;
we/they becomes us,
stuff becomes God’s.

Tapestry of mission and service
unfurls into intended form
when we all allow ourselves
to be fed by the long-handled spoon
of one another’s gifts and grace.

© 2010 Todd Jenkins

The Church I See

I see a congregation that celebrates worship in two separate locations,
at two separate times, in two separate styles, yet yearns to live, act,
and serve as a single body, united in its commitment to serve the risen
Christ through its common mission. I have a vision of a congregation
that sees the sanctuary and the gym as half-full on Sunday mornings,
and is so excited about what is going on here that friends, neighbors,
co-workers, and acquaintances hear about it and are invited. Have we
seen this congregation? Will we be this congregation?

I see a church that reaches out to serve others near and far with time,
treasure, and talent; a church with missional fervor that has been
grasped by grace and flung into the world with an attitude of gratitude.
I have a vision of a church that staffs itself and holds its staff accountable
for supporting and empowering all of its members to more
faithfully embrace a personal and corporate call to Christian worship,
mission, and service. Have we seen her? Will we be her?

I see people who make time to learn and teach one another, and all
who gather, in all sorts of formats and venues, not because it is an obligation,
but because it is a passion. I have a vision of people whose
faith traditions are regularly practiced, understood, celebrated, and
shared; people who ask “Why not?” more often than “Why?”
Have we seen these people? Will we be these people?

I see a congregation that gladly opens its doors, hearts, and homes to
people of all ages and circumstances, regardless of whether they are
members or whether they do or can contribute to the church’s coffers;
a congregation that recognizes that each generation has something to
teach and learn from the other. I have a vision of a congregation that
believes finding better ways to connect the generations is critical to its
purpose. Have we seen this congregation? Will we be this congregation?

I see a church that cultivates members whose generosity is deeply
rooted in God’s ownership of all creation; a church that challenges its
members to join in and support its mission and vision, rather than
meet its budget. I have a vision of a church that bases its budget more
on what it believes God wants done, than on patterns of what people
have let go of; a church whose members find ways to support the
church’s mission during and after their own lives are complete. Have
we seen her? Will we be her?

I see people who are fully and joyfully committed to and engaged in
revealing God’s grace to all generations now and forevermore. Have
we seen these people? Will we be these people? Won’t you
join these people?

© 2010 Todd Jenkins

Wordle

Pastor Jessi recently introduced me to an online art form called “Wordle.” (http://wordle.net) The main page’s introduction reads:

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.

This description is much too simple. Wordle may be considered a “toy” because you can “play” with (tweak) the images it generates, but the power of the “word cloud” image goes far beyond play. It creates a visual representation of the central ideas and focal points of a given body of words.

From time to time, either printed in the bulletin or on the screen for TouchPoint, we will use wordle word-clouds to help you see the key messages and meanings in scripture, stories, and other writings. Above is a wordle word cloud for this article.

© 2010 Todd Jenkins

Christmas Gift

We are stuffed, not just fed,
clothes to wear, roof overhead.
Christmas comes, begs us heed
ones without even basic need.

And why this call as year winds down
to reach across our world and town?
Could we not better serve God’s way
by living Christmas every day?

THAT, my friend, is just the plan
Nicholas hoped we’d understand.
Winter’s pitch, pierced by light,
opens hope, beckons right.

Gifts from “haves” to “have nots” spread,
one beggar offering another bread.
Hand that set the world in motion
longs for love, seeks devotion.

Box the crèche, store the lights
but don’t forget in darkest nights
star appeared, drawing wildest wild
to Immanuel, the God-flesh child.

Seasons come, seasons go
but always remember the gift we know;
‘twill open us as we opened it
transforming us until we’re fit.

No burnt offerings, ritual pyre
but hearts aflame, love afire,
seeing Christ in every face,
sharing love, unleashing grace.

© 2009 Todd Jenkins