Doves

As he was preparing the disciples for their first short-term “ministry immersion experience,” Jesus gave them this piece of advice: "Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. Don't be naive. Some people will impugn your motives, others will smear your reputation--just because you believe in me.” (Matthew 10:16-17 from The Message)

Truly, the work he was assigning them was dangerous, in a real and physical sense. The message of God’s kingdom that he called these twelve to carry was new and different. Quite honestly, to a world that had never heard anything exactly like it before, it seemed positively subversive and dangerous. “The kingdom has come. The sick will be healed, the poor will have worth, no one should be considered untouchable.”

Folks who are crazy enough to believe that kind of message --- and then inspired to see it become a reality in the world just might have the potential to bring about some powerful change.

There is one undeniable truth about change that human beings have been able to count on throughout the millennia: somebody won’t like it. Somebody won’t like it one bit.

And so, Jesus told his disciples (in my paraphrase), “think about what you’re doing and why you do it. Sneak up on somebody and do good for them, snake-like in your movement. Maybe they won’t even know you’ve come and gone, but they will know God’s love and see the message lived. Be innocent of motive, and just live out the kingdom.”

Christ’s message was solid advice to his disciples back then, and it’s solid for us today. Jesus seems fully aware that such radical faith in action will be difficult or impossible for some in the world to understand. In some of the deepest and perhaps ugliest parts of our souls, we human beings really doubt the idea that someone might do something of value and worth for their neighbor with no motive or agenda other than love --- and that neighbor’s own personal good.

For those disciples engaged in ministry today (at least in our part of the world), that “misunderstanding” doesn’t often carry the risk of physical violence or death that it did for the earliest Christians. But risk will always be an inseparable part of what it means to follow in the footsteps of Christ. There is risk when “the kingdom” runs up against the cynicism, hurt and impulse for self-protection that we all carry.

We should expect to meet such resistance, and even see it as a pretty good sign that we’re involved in some of God’s extraordinary work when we meet it in the world. I tried to remember that when I found myself crowded into the throng waiting to see Baby Noor upon her arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson airport this past Saturday. “Wow,” a stranger said, striking up conversation, “you look at all this hype and attention and you just can’t help wondering about it.” “How do you mean?” I asked. “Well, you know, this is just exactly the type of story that’s needed right now to rally support for the war and it’s really beneficial for some people. I just don’t know how we can even know for sure that there really is a sick baby, at all. Maybe this is just a hoax to manipulate the media.”

I was, as our English cousins like to say, “gobsmacked.” I was so astounded at the implication of this person’s words, that I really just didn’t know what to say. And so, I just really didn‘t say much of anything. But now, with a few days’ time for reflection, I have found that an interesting shift in my thinking has taken place.

I am no longer astounded at this person’s audacity, deep cynicism and obvious inability to believe in the simple reality of something very good. I am instead much more convicted by how much that person and I (by all reports a religious leader who claims to give others advice and direction on their faith and relationship to God) have in common.

You see, if I wasn’t on the “inside” of this ministry experience, I might have my doubts, too. If I didn’t know that Lt. Morgan is a real person with a real heart for Christ and that Debbie Stone and so many others in our church are dedicated Christian servants, I might wonder about the reality of Baby Nora, too.

It’s possible that if this miracle had happened in another church, in another place, with other people, I might believe that it was on TV only because the “powers that be” decided that it was good for their own personal gain. I might be tempted to doubt that real good can really happen and that it can connect, through media, with so many other people in the world whose own hearts are turned toward good, and toward God, as well.

I might even justify my thinking as Christian by quoting from Matthew 10. “Be as wise as serpents,” Jesus told us, after all. I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck, you know. I weep to think that I might have wrapped my cynicism up around me like a blanket and felt that I was being faithful to the call of Christ.

Being in ministry isn’t easy, and sometimes it might even be painful. We can be cynical with a sense of false safety, or wide-open and vulnerable.

Many people have asked many of us what we’ve learned from the miracle of Baby Nora’s arrival and treatment in the U.S. I can only tell you what I’ve learned: God really does drive this ship, and our job is simply to climb on board and ride it for all it’s worth. We’ll be wise, and we won’t go hanging overboard just to see what might happen. But we’ll also be innocent --- pure of motive, seeking only the message, the call and the kingdom. May God give us the strength to celebrate the wonders that we’ve seen (even when they don‘t get coverage on major media outlets), and to follow wherever we may be led.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

P.S. A special thanks to all those in the media who have covered this story with fairness and openness. Your thorough approach and dedication to the goodness at work in this story has been wonderful to see.

Special thanks to Mark Bixler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for his great writing and careful listening to the story of those who have experienced God at work at Shepherd of the Hills. He conveyed our deep sense of how God’s work will continue into the future and how we’ve all been transformed by this experience.

LIFE AT SOTH:
Thanks to everybody for a great day of worship this past Sunday ---- there could not have been a more powerful way to start the New Year, and we think we’ve decided to hire somebody to walk around with a fake camera every Sunday.

Our United Methodist Women will meet in our worship space this Monday, January 9th at 7pm. All women of the church are invited to come out and be a part.

United Methodist Men will meet next Tuesday for dinner, January 10 at Alpine Steakhouse , 7:30 pm for a “dutch treat” meal and fellowship. We’ll be having conversation around our vision for the group and ministry goals for the year ahead. All men in our church and community are invited to be a part of this great time together.

Our next Wednesday night community meal will be on January 18th, and you’ll be able to make your reservations at worship this Sunday. We’ll resume our regular Bible/book study and fellowship on Wednesday nights beginning February 1st.

Upcoming Worship Notes: This Sunday we’ll unveil the new logo for our church, and talk about its meaning as a symbol of Christ in our community. You’ll also have an opportunity to order the newest SOTH T-shirts. Our worship on 1/15 will honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and focus on God’s commitment to equality and justice for all people. Beginning Sunday, January 22nd we’ll begin a multi-week worship focus called “Turn It Over,” all about turning over a new leaf of faith in 2006.

“Life Over Ministries” Update: Baby Nora has suddenly raised the profile of a new ministry that was forming when Jeff Morgan asked SOTH to help. “Lifeover Ministries” is the vision of several SOTH members who have felt to establish a broad-based, non-profit community outreach agency affiliated with SOTH. Lifeover is a place where Christians who feel called to service can find ways to channel that calling and serve those in need. Hurricane Relief efforts, foster family support, ministry to families with special needs children and ongoing efforts to relieve suffering for children in Iraq are all currently underway. We are actively seeking partners in this work and much is needed. If you’d like more information, or have specific gifts or resources that you can offer, please go to www.lifeover.org or e-mail info@lifeover.org

At this time, Lifeover seeks the following supplies for shipment to Iraq:
Pre-natal vitamins, Multi-Vitamins for Children, Baby Formula, Pens, Pencils
Sunglasses, Watches, Soccer balls

If you have connections to acquiring any of these items at low-cost and in mass quantity, please let us know. Also, you’ll find a donation receptacle at SOTH and we will get receptacles and posters to anyone who’d like to set them up at their churches, etc. A U.S. soldier in Iraq told us that when soldiers are able to deliver these kinds of items to Iraqis in need that, “we make a human connection, and maybe my children won’t be here in 10 years fighting the same war.” Amen. Please help however you can.

Also, although we have raised approximately $20,000 for Baby Noor, we have not really raised any startup money for Lifeover’s efforts, and this ministry is new and unfounded in our 2006 budget. Any donations will do a lot of good and are greatly appreciated. Send checks to SOTH office, or donate via the lifeover website.