Have you seen this soft & cuddly Nittany Lion?

Sometime on Friday, October 31, the soft and cuddly Nittany Lion stuffy, which stands about 6 inches tall, was kidnapped from the front desk of Faith Community church.

A ransom note was placed in my church mail box today which had early elementary age large print on the envelope with the words, "PASTOR ROBERT."

Inside the envelope was a letter from the kidnappers which utilized words clipped from various newspapers and magazines explaining that more instructions will be given if I want to see my Nittany Lion cub alive again. The front office staff did not see the perpetrator take the little harmless stuffy but investigators are presently interviewing staff members and suspicious church members on where they were on the day of the crime.

I can only imagine where lil Nittany is at this very moment...probably in some dark cellar with Buckeye Brutus nearby.

Nittany...if you have internet wifi handy and they haven't taken your smart phone, go to daddy's web blog and know that I will not stop searching for you even if it gets to feel like it's early in the fourth quarter and we're losing 6 to 3. Remember to keep hope. Buckeye Brutus might get careless and fumble the deal and we'll be able to rescue you.

Your spot on my office desk furniture will not be the same without you. Your friend, Pittsburgh Steeler piggie which sits next to you in my office has also made a vow to not blow any more leads until you are found and returned safe and sound.

Hang in there lil Nittany. Thank goodness we have a bye week.

Happy Reformation Day!

On the Eve of All Saints, Day, October 31, 1517, Augustinian Father Doctor Martin Luther, professor of Scripture at the University of Wittenberg, Germany posted an invitation to debate on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. The invitation to debate contained ninety-five points, or theses, concerning the sale of indulgences. Luther chose this date for posting his theses because the coming holy day (All Saints' Day) would bring many of the community to services, ensuring that his statements would receive wide exposure.

We celebrated Reformation Sunday last Sunday (October 26) in church and sang the great Martin Luther hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" in thanksgiving for the influence of the 15th and 16th century reformers, including Martin Luther.

One caution regarding Reformation Day however - The United Methodist Church has both a Protestant as well as a Catholic heritage. Protestant in the sense that we have inherited the influence of the Reformation from our Anglican Church heritage and Catholic in the sense that the Anglican Church was also steeped in the rich Catholic heritage dating all the way back to the 3rd century in England. Modern day United Methodists tend to forget that the Anglican Church from which we were born through John Wesley, himself an Anglican Priest, has both a Protestant and a Catholic flavor to it. Part of our forgetfulness is due to the American Methodists becoming their own denomination in 1784 and some distancing from our Anglican roots over the past 200 years.

This distancing from our Anglican roots is regretful since both the Protestant and Catholic heritage offer a rich diversity of theology and practice. For example, we don't only emphasize the importance of the Bible (Protestant), but we also want to celebrate the importance of the Sacraments (Catholic).

Reformation Day Prayer:
Almighty God, gracious Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon your faithful people. Keep them steadfast in your Word, protect and comfort them in all temptations, defend them against all their enemies, and bestow on the Church your saving peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Week #1 - The Blue Parakeet

For the next six weeks, my goal is to provide a brief summary of the book, "The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible" by Scot McKnight. This is the topic of my weekly Thursday morning bible study at Faith Community United Methodist.

For this first week, (first two chapters) here are the highlights of our conversation:

Like it or not, all of us "pick and choose" when interpreting verses/passages in the bible. Even folks of the fundamentalist variety who take the bible very literally pick and choose. Examples include Matthew 10:7,8 - why are many of us preaching about the kingdom (verse 7) but few of us are showing the signs of the kingdom through healing (verse 8.) Another example: Why do folks who point out that the practice of homosexual relations is sinful with such verses as Leviticus 20:13a not also apply the punishment for such activity (the 2nd half of that verse.) While we say, "thank God that people don't apply the 2nd half of that verse," the point is that we pick and choose.

• The point of this first chapter isn't that it's right or wrong to pick and choose. The point is that we can't escape from doing it!


• The 2nd chapter explains the author's use of the blue parakeet as a metaphor for his book. A blue parakeet is its own bird. That is, when a blue parakeet is around other types of birds, it does not adapt to their habits and flight patterns. Sometimes other birds try to get the blue parakeet to adapt to their ways, but it will stand its ground (its sky?) McKnight says that the bible is like the blue parakeet. Even though we try to fit the bible into our way of thinking and worldview or what we think it should say, it holds its own ground. We need to let the bible be the bible. And the first step in letting the bible be the bible is to admit that all of us pick and choose


• Often times we get Tradition (capital "T") confused with traditionalism in studying the bible. Tradition (capital "T") is how the church over the centuries has interpreted scriptural passages whereas traditionalism is how we so often take one strand of interpretation and without any critical thinking, allow that particular interpretation of a passage of scripture to be the final authority. In summary, Tradition is vital for the appropriate interpretation of scripture. Traditionalism is the wrong way to go!


• Looking ahead to next week's bible study (chapters 3 - 5) the proper way to interpret scripture is in remembering these three words:

Story - Listening - Discerning

More on this next week!

New Thursday Morning Bible Study Topic

I am blessed to facilitate a weekly Thursday morning bible study at the church which has been meeting for the past couple of years.

We have focused on a variety of topics such as the "Just Neighbors" study on local and national poverty issues, the United Methodist Book of Resolutions which covers over 300 denominational stances on various social issues, the United Methodist Hymnal and the meaning of the hymns, the Book of Romans, the Book of Colossians, the Gospels, the Book of Revelation, several video studies by New Testament scholar and Anglican Bishop, N.T. Wright, and more recently, the "Prayers, Presence, Gifts, and Service: Forty Day Journey" stewardship campaign.

Tomorrow, we are excited to begin a new topical study focusing on the newly published book by the New Testament scholar, Scot McKnight, "The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible."

This is the kind of book that has a way of upsetting our apple carts because it helps us to see our own assumptions in our personal interpretations of biblical texts. Some of our assumptions are based more on commonly held interpretations about the bible rather than on a careful study of the original meaning of a particular text. McKnight offers specific examples of some of these commonly held assumptions.

What I like most about this book is that the author emphasizes how the bible has an overarching grand narrative which links the texts together. By knowing what the grand narrative of the bible is (the book describes this) we put ourselves in a much better position to interpret a particular passage of scripture.

But what does a blue parakeet have to do with all of this? Come Thursday morning at 10 A.M. and find out!

Sunday Worship Preview - November 2

Sunday, November 2 (8:30 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Traditional and 9:45 A.M. Contemporary)

Features - All Saints Sunday & Holy Communion

Sermon Title - "The Resurrection Experiment"

Scriptures - Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; I John 3:1-3; & Matthew 5:1-12

Theme - One of the ways that people come to belief in Christ is through the lives of faithful people who live in such a way that helps people see the authenticity of the Christian faith. On this All Saints’ Sunday, we will not only remember the members and loved ones of our congregation who have died since last year’s All Saints’ Sunday, but we will also be inspired to follow their example in offering the love of Christ to the people around us through word and deed.

Being a Christian leader means...

Adam Hamilton, Sr. Pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City, the largest United Methodist Church in the country which has about 7,500 in worship attendance each weekend, was the opening speaker at the "Change the World Conference" today at Ginghamsburg UMC.

He defined an effective Christian leader as someone who helps followers of Christ become authentically human. Adam spoke at length on the importance for Christians and churches to be genuine and authentic in living out their faith. This is the only approach that will reach younger generations for Christ.

Speaking of young people (16 to 29), Adam shared that 40% of them have left the church because they perceive the church to be too judgemental. Young people are not leaving because they believe church people are hypocrites. They readily admit that they are hypocrites themselves. The difference is that they know they are hypocrites and church people think they aren't. Ouch!

Adam said that the church needs to reclaim Jesus' method of reaching the unchurched or the disenfranchised by authentically and genuinely reaching out to our communities and world through hands on missions like food drives, hunger walks, etc.

In addition to hands on missions, Adam also emphasized that the church of today needs to not oversimplify controversial or difficult issues and questions that people face in life like. Instead, the church should welcome people's questions and not offer them tired and worn out religious cliches. In short, and back to Adam's definition of a Christian leader, we are to be authentic.

Last year, I visited Adam's church in Kansas City, and it was easy to see that his church emphasizes hands on missions and being genuine and authentic in welcoming people, especially those who have honest questions about their faith and the meaning of life.

What does all of this mean for us? For those of us who are United Methodist, it means that the mainline denomination has a lot to offer young people and the unchurched population in general, who are living in this culture. Our own Wesleyan/Methodist theology is one that invites open dialogue and authentic Christian witness that meets people where they are. Today was a reminder for those of us in the church to consciously check our judgemental attitudes at the door and to welcome people as Christ welcomes people. And we need to provide several hands on mission opportunities in which people can participate (both inside and outside the church.)

For those of us who are preachers, our sermons and messages need to connect with people where they are and communicate authenticity and humility as we offer the good news and the hope of the gospel.

Maybe the commercial slogan of the United Methodist Church can be a reminder of what Adam shared with us today. We are to be a people of "Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors."

If you'd like more highlights from the October 24/25 Change the World conference, come to the Wednesday Common Cup 7 P.M. Growth Group at Faith Community on October 29. The Common Cup pastors who attended the conference will be present to share what we learned at the conference. What I shared here is just the tip of the iceberg!

A Visit with Former US Ambassador Tony Hall

This morning, my daughter, Naomi and I had the privilege to be part of a small group discussion with former US Ambassador Tony Hall regarding the vital issues facing our country and world. Tony wanted to meet with a sampling of religious leaders in the Dayton area to share some of his thoughts with us and to hear our comments and questions.

No longer an Ambassador, he continues to serve his country particularly in the areas of global hunger relief and the Middle East peace process. How's that for your mission in life!

Here are some of the specific things he is doing in these areas:

• Works closely with the organization, "Opportunity International" which provides loans to people living in the poorest nations of the world. Since banks in the third world countries typically only do business with only 5% of the population, this organization provides loans to people who are in desperate need. Interestingly enough, 98% of the loans are paid back in full.


• Regarding peace in the Middle East, he is working hard to include the leading religious officials of several different faith traditions representing these countries to be officially part of the peace process. In the past, it's been primarily the political leaders who come to the table. But in this area of the world where tensions are due to religious differences, it only makes sense to include the major religious leaders. I believe he said that he's traveled to the Middle East 9 or 10 times this past year. He's returning in November.

In addition to sharing what he has been doing since serving as a US Ambassador, Tony Hall also shared what he believes to be the important issues facing our country today:

• The National & Global Hunger crisis. Only 1/2 of 1% of our nation's budget is in the form of foreign aid, but he publicly affirms President Bush's because he has done more for the poor who are overseas than any other US president.


• The health care crisis needs to be addressed. It's wrong that 40 million Americans are uninsured.


• He has been part of a weekly prayer and scripture gathering with members of congress (both Democrat & Republican) every Wednesday at 4 P.M.


• He said that he has been motivated to help end global hunger because there are almost 2,500 verses in the Bible which are about caring for the hungry and those who are poor.

There wasn't a lot of time for Q & A, but I asked Tony Hall this question: "In your experience in working to help end global poverty, what are some positive signs you are seeing in the area of third world debt reduction and elimination?"

His answer: "Eliminating third world debt is making a huge difference in these countries, particularly in countries like Ghana and Mozambique. Our world needs to live out the biblical principle of the 'Year of Jubilee' where debts are forgiven and countries can use this money to provide education and food for their people."

It was an honor to be part of this meeting and to be part of the dialogue.