Why Disagree?

When I disagree with grace

a piece of me falls off,

floats off into another person's life.

It lingers there

nudging the other

to think and rethink.

When I disagree poorly

what I have to say 

resides in me 

and stays there.

My dogma disables

any listener's ears

to hear nuance, empathy, love.

When I disagree well

I release my deep concern

and open my own ears

to hear fully 

the concern of the other.  

When we disagree with grace

we both depart in peace,

empowered and changed, 

because a part of us 

remains behind.

Writing to Think

So I'm committed to write daily because it helps me think. One day a week I'll be posting here and the other days I'll journal in a personal blog available to friends who request the link. I discovered Mind/Shift this week. In this issue you'll see ten educational tech trends to watch in 2012. Cell phones and IPads are pushing the boundaries of schooling through applications for adaptive, social and game-based learning. Ken Robinson has another video out. This time from TEDx in London. I'm in a school setting today so I'm blocked from finding the link on Twitter. At least I can still log.

Light

Where are God's people today?  Our hearts are turned to reason and not to God.  Our apologetic is unconvincing because we say that which we also do not do.  Men say, "Talk is cheap."  None-the-less none live differently.  "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 14)  So we live like God does not exist.  And we live foolishly as a result.  It is not a matter of the mind but of the heart.  We love ourselves instead of God.  We look to ourselves for what God alone can give us.  God is love.  When we rely on reason for guidance and not on love, we deceive ourselves.  The Truth is not in us.  We walk in darkness.  This is the reason God sent Jesus into the world.  In Jesus was life and the life was the light of man.  Our darkness cannot overcome this light.  But it is true that many did not recognize the light.  They were blind to that which could have given them life - blinded by their own self-centeredness.  

Leadership

I'm a key leader in a local church. I wrote this to our congregation this morning . . . I did not attach the article which can be found at The Alban Institute

To the congregation that gathers at Island Covenant, mercy, shalom, and love be yours in abundance.

If you read the February Lamplighter by now you may have noticed there was no elder buzz section. I apologize for not writing an article. Time slipped away from me as leaders in the church worked to understand the Pulse survey results. Yesterday one hundred eight people attended the Town Hall meeting where initial results were reported. The meeting ended with small group discussions and I've included the group reports in the attached document. The three questions to which people responded were:

1.Begin with gratitude . . . Think about why you are grateful to God, today. Then think about why you are grateful for MICC.
2.How does this report resonate with you? Where do you agree; where do you disagree?
3.What is your greatest hope going forward?

Please be assured that this is just the beginning for our church in looking into the roots of issues that have come up in this survey. You'll notice a couple of comments that yawn at yet another survey that no one will "apply". Our intent is to reflect and to act.

Those in attendance were introduced to an emphasis of prayer during this lenten season. Kathy R. explained several ways to be praying for MICC. You may signup to pray specifically for one of the forty church leaders including staff, deacons, Veritas team and elders. For Holy Week, the week just prior to Easter, we will have 168 consecutive hours of prayer. Kathy will let you know more about that later as well as provide opportunity to sign up. We intend to include a section on the prayer update in the bulletin specifically for issues within the church. A grass roots effort has already begun for 777 - 7 minutes of prayer at 7 am and 7 pm. Please join church leaders as we pray and listen to the Holy Spirit's guidance, as we seek to discern God's will for Mercer Island Covenant, and as we embrace the change that is upon us.

We plan two more Town Hall meetings in April and May in preparation for our annual meeting in June. As soon as they are scheduled, we'll publish the dates and times.

Finally, Lent is a time of discipline and self-sacrifice. I've included a second attachment, an article I just received from the Alban Institute on "Waiting and Yearning in Lent". It has helped me to reflect on Lent which begins this Ash Wednesday. I encourage you to join me and others in the church who plan to engage in some sort of self-sacrifice for the forty days leading up to Easter as a sign that we will wait for the Lord Jesus and listen to Him.

Mercy, shalom, and love be yours in abundance,
2 Chronicles 7:14

Weekends

For me writing on the weekends is more difficult. I just returned home after being out since 7:30 am. Weekend routines break the mold. We tend to eat out more, go to more concerts and movies and generally stay up later. Finding time to write only a few sentences takes even more discipline. So here's to the weekend.

Hitting my stride . . .

Not! There are days when I simply don't hit my stride. Today was one. I'm training for a half marathon on March 20. We had a day off of school so I used it to go for a ten mile run. I felt terrible the entire time. I never hit my stride the entire one and a half hours of running. I've noticed other days are similar. I wake up sluggishly. Coffee is no help whatsoever and I can't shake the sleep from the night before. I feel grouchy,unapproachable and irritable all day. I never hit my stride on a day like that. The only remedy is another night's sleep and a new day. Every day is a chance to hit my stride.

WooHoo - Field Trip

So I teach Marine Biology. Today we went on a field trip to the Seattle Aquarium. The exhibits were great, the students were great, lunch at the Aquarium Cafe was great and well, the entire day was great. Students ought to get out more - really! They are more engaged, better behaved, more interested and a joy to be around when they are not in the classroom. I wonder what this says about how their typical school day is structured?

tk