Bikers etc.

I seem to be having difficulty writing a blog this week and I am not sure why. Perhaps it is the roar of bikers outside my window or maybe it is the need to multi-task. (I know, Ron, this is more appropriately known as rapid refocus.) However, yesterday I was at a Spartanburg Methodist College Board of Trustee’s meeting and the driving time gave me plenty of time to think. Included in my thoughts were the following:

-No matter how much we talk about the carbon imprint we are leaving on the Earth, most of us like the independence of driving ourselves and traveling alone. The four SMC trustees from this area drove separately to Spartanburg. Although we are advocates of being environmentally friendly, many of us haven’t adopted such practices. Lord, have mercy upon us.

-I am a firm believer in maintaining Sunday school during the summer and many within our congregation agree. If we don’t, the discipline of learning is often lost and class members become strangers. However, providing this ministry effectively is the challenge. The children need familiar faces and routine. Yet, their teachers need a respite. Youth that don’t want to be part of the summer visitation/music activity do not have an alternative. Adults are caught up in the Myrtle Beach summer scene and elect to do other things on Sunday morning. What are our options as we prepare for summer Sunday school? Lord, have mercy upon us.

-Nathan, our summer intern, is arriving this weekend. For this to be a good teaching/learning experience for all, we need to define more clearly both sides of this relationship. Our lay committee will meet on Sunday evening with Nathan and work on this. In our effort to teach our interns, we sometimes fail to learn from them. They can provide an understanding of the church and pastoral leadership into the future. Are we listening? Lord, have mercy upon us.

-Listening to multiple news accounts of world events can be depressing. Why are Christians so reluctant to be voices for peace and justice? Lord, have mercy upon us.