Sabbatical Preparations Continue--March 1, 2011

            I continue to find myself drawn to learning about Islam.  Three church members and myself attended a presentation on how Moslems, Christians and Jews view their scriptures.  I learned a lot from the speakers about each tradition.  There is absolutely no doubt that scripture is viewed very differently in our three traditions--to say nothing of the differences within each tradition. 

 Would anyone like to know more about these differences?

            Last Sunday I had my good friend Rabbii Janice talk about the same topic to our adult forum.  Janice is an exciting teacher.  I hope she will return and address two more questions, 1)  What it is like to be Jewish in Springfield, including being a Jewish parent, and 2)  What it was like to grow up in a family where both parents were holocaust survivors,   

             I have completed two books on Islam recommended by a student at Wittenberg and am reading three other books, one an overview on the Koran, one an overview on Islam, and the third a scholars look at the face of Islam across the world today.  A couple of the books read like the works of many Christians who are critical scholars of scripture.  A couple of others read like what I imagine I would experience if I could stomach reading a fundamentalist Christian apologist.   It is actually fairly easy, after many years of learning to discern the truth from among various Christian positions, to discern what feels like truth when reading works on Islam.  I don’t think there are any areas of my life where I don’t notice absolutist claims.  This is especially true when I am listening to individuals share their stories or give their testimonies.

I attended a class at the University of Dayton where a Moslem woman told about her life as a Moslem in America.  She was interesting and vibrant and articulate.  She was also, to me, unbelievable.  The answers to too many questions seemed memorized.   There was never a hint of ambiguity or doubt.   She was not seeking anything because everything of importance had already been found.  All declarations  were easy.  Above all, as I would be uncomfortable engaging her in a deep or honest conversation for fear that my doubts and fears would only make me vulnerable and that sharing would not open doors to a deeper relationship.

What do you think out there in cyberspace?   Do you also imagine that you can identify people whose minds and hearts and spirits are not open?   Is it reasonable that in the unfolding plan of God it might be possible to find new friends, especially in a place like Turkey, who might be so open that they can open my eyes and heart?  Are there such potential relationships closer to home?

Why Turkey? Why Islam?

Some of you know the "How Much More" of the experience Kathy and I had on our honeymoon.  The entire trip was an adventure full of surprises.  Yet, we were most looking forward to our descent into the Grand Canyon to the Havasaupi Indian Reservation and the various stunning water falls that are among the most beautiful places in the world.  The possibility that our actual experience would exceed all expectations, that there would be a giant sized "How Much More" waiting for us, was nowhere in our minds.    Ask me sometime how our lives were deeply impacted by this experience but I will tell you one thing right now.  I saw a side of my new wife that I had never seen before;  a level of determinaiton and strength that can only be revealed by a crisis.  Sometimes it is very important for me to look back and remember the "How Much More" of Kathy that I encountered on an exhausting trail deep in the Grand Canyon.

My life is full of such experiences of, "How Much more!"  They seem to be a pattern in my spiritual life.  The difference now, after many such experiences, is that now I am more likely to conscious that I am heading in the general direction of such an epiphany.

The First Baptist Church and I wrote an exciting, and ultimately successful, proposal to the Lilly Endowment seeking funding from my sabbatical.  But what about the "How Much More" of this sabbatical  that we did not know about when we wrote the proposal?  We presented in our proposal challenging goals that would be pursued for the mutual benefit of church and pastor, but what about the "How Much More?"  "How Much More" does God intend?  "How Much More" can only be known as the journey unfolds?

The premier event of my sabbatical, at least in terms of time, cost, and exposure to unknown experiences and people,  is my planned encounter with Turkey and Islam.  When asked, "Why Turkey?," and, "Why Islam?" it is not difficult to come up with some very good answers.  For at least a dozen years I have known that Turkey has some of the most dramatic topography (Cappadocia) in the world.  Turkey may be the locale of more clashes between civilizaitons, cultures and religions than any place in the world. It is possible in Turkey to immerse oneself in the religion of Islam, thus gaining insight into how the religions of the world can live together in peace.  The Christian story that has long been so transforming for me is told in Turkey by the ancient sights, magnificient churches, and rich history/.

Those are my reasonable and conscious reasons for chosing Turkey and Islam.  But the evidence is accumulating that they are not the deepest reasons for why Turkey and Islam have been chosen for me.  I observe, for example, a deepening interest in Islam that is growing in anticipation of my encounters there.  Our Adult Forum at church is into our fourth week of discussing the book, "The Faith Club."  A student at Wittenbery recommened two books that would provide basic insights into Islam.  I am devouring them. 
I am looking forward to beginning a friendship converstaion with a Moslem in Springfield that has been arranged for us by a mutual friend.  There may be opportunities to spend a few days in Turkey with Moslems and/or Christians.  I have my plans.  What are God's plans?
All of a sudden, a few days ago, I noticed the accumulation of these experiences and insights that may, they just may, be God's preparation for all that is to come.  I don't know for sume what is coming but I know that I have been awakened to the possibility of "How Much More?"    And I realized that the answers to many questions I have been asked about, "Why Turkey,?"  "Why Islam?" "How will this help our church?"   can only be, "I don't know yet."  I have some preliminary  hunches, but the bottom line is that, "I won't know until I get thee?  Stay tuned!

Introduction to Sabbaticals

   Hello world.  This is my first post on my first blog.  Just as the title says, this blog has everything to do with a three month sabbatical I will take in 2011, or to be more exact, May 8, 2011-August 13, 2011.  With many words of support and encouragement, the First Baptist Church of Springfield agreed to a sabbatical policy even before I moved into the church and city.  This was reflective of the kind of mutual trust, support and love that permeates this church.
   The only difficulty mentioned was the cost, especially the cost of an interim pastor while I was out and about learning and being renewed.  Given the tough economic times we are all facing, this was and is a realistic concern.  However, what if we could find a grant to underwrite the sabbatical?  We discovered two sources of such grants, the Lilly Endowment and the Louisville Foundation.  Well, to shorten a long story, we wrote an application for the Lilly Endowment's Clergy Renewal Program and won!  This was an extremely competitive process and the church and I wrote an exciting proposal.  And now we have begun to create and implement a dynamic plan for both pastor and church.
   Before I say more about this plan, I'd like to view this sabbatical from the perspective of my only other sabbatical.  This sabbatical was taken during the summer of 1988 while I was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Littleton, MA  Church's like FBC Littleton never offered their pastor's sabbaticals.  It was extremely rare for any church to grant a sabbatical.  But what if ours is a profession that requires expanded times for learning and renewal?  What if burn out is always a possibility?  What if a pastor who is taking care of a church absolutely needs a church that is taking care of a pastor?   I asked about a sabbatical.  The Pastoral Relations Committee wrote a sabbatical policy.  The church held informal meetings to discuss the policy and then finally an official meeting to vote.  By the time we got to the vote almost everyone supported the decision to create a sabbatical policy.  Having been at the church for far longer than the required 5 years, I immediately scheduled the sabbatical.  We had very little money but that did not seem to hinder our planning in the least.  We had a family homestead where we could stay for the summer and I had enough money to attend two conferences.  The rest of the time I focused on learning woodworking skills and on spiritual formation and hospitality.  What an awesome summer!  My life and ministry were expanded and deepened.  It was a time of healing and discovery.  From everything I heard, the church also had a wonderful summer.  (AND, I know of at least two other pastors at the First Baptist Church of Littleton who have had sabbaticals because of the ground breaking work done in 1988.)

   How much more valuable could a sabbatical be if both the church and the pastor had plenty of resources and a common vision?  What if the major learning goals of the sabbatical were both the church's and the pastor's goals?  What if, for example, the pastor was to spend ten days learning about ministries of other churches to the diversity of their cities while the church was following its own plan to learn about the same things? What if the church and the pastor decided on various ways to keep communicating during the sabbatical and then followed through on those decisions?   It was exactly that kind of plan and such goals that the Lilly Endowment required from us in order to win the sabbatical grant.