Wednesday, May 29, 2013


How does one measure success?

Sometimes, it’s easy – High score wins! Low score wins! First to cross the line wins! Last one standing wins! Tab A into slot B = success! No parts left over = success! Starts up after overhaul= success! But there are many more experiences in life for which the assessment is much less clear than win/lose or success/fail.

Of course, the culture in which we live seems to provide some universal guidelines for measuring success, benchmarks we can use to assess our life’s achievements. In one’s career, salary and perks are easy measures, while authority (how many people report to us) and indispensability (how little can be done without our input) are also crucial to assessing one’s level of success. In relationship, the measurement run the gamut from who loves us, who is our friend, and how desirable are they? to are one’s children reflecting well on their parents?

In Spiritual matters, the culture seems ask but two questions: Are we happy, and if not, are we doing something about it?

In the film The Green Mile, there is an scene depicting an improperly prepared electrocution which is both arresting and gruesome. When asked by the warden what happened, Corrections Officer Paul Edgecomb, (played by Tom Hanks) responds, “An execution – a successful one.” The warden, incredulous, wonders how he could call the prolonged, graphic, painful episode a success. The answer is simple: “Edward Delacroix is dead.”

Success here is measured in its definition; what we’re after determines how we gauge whether or not we have achieved it. In the case of Edward Delacroix’s execution, success was defined, simply, as achieving the stated goal – the death of a condemned inmate. Of course, the warden’s questions demonstrate the truth, that there was much more at stake than the execution of a lawful sentence on a prisoner. We all know success is more than simply doing what one sets out to do – there is always another agenda, a fundamental truth by which we measure every thought, every action. The truth is, when it comes to defining that kind of success, the culture does a pretty poor job; objectives are set unattainably high, or using the wrong benchmarks; stated goals often have very little to do with truth, or real success.

Here in the church, success is measured by a very different standard. One way to describe it is to use one of those trusty visual aids from elementary set theory, the Venn diagram:




It all boils down to this: if we can figure out A.) our gifts and talents, and 2.) what God wants for the world, then we can measure how well we’re using our gifts to do God’s will. That is the fundamental truth, the basic agenda from which we operate – as individuals and as the church.

That is also the essence of what we Presbyterians call The Mission Study Process.  Because they begin with this fundamental premise, Mission studies can be crucial for figuring out what lies ahead for a particular congregation; not just who the next pastor will be, but also questions of property use and improvement, ministry opportunities and initiatives, and community cooperation – all with an unwavering focus on what God is calling us to do with what we have been given.

In the Mission Study process, we will be gathering data in a variety of ways to answer these basic questions:

Who are we as a congregation?
What gifts and talents do we have? What resources?
What is our community like? What opportunities for ministry can we identify?
What is God Calling us to do in this time and place?
How can a pastor help us use our gifts, talents and resources to fulfill that Call?

While the Session is entrusted with leadership of the congregation, and will appoint a Task Force to oversee this process, the fact is, each member of the congregation is essential for this mission study to be a success.

Look for more information about the Mission Study and how you can be a part of this important process here at Smyrna Church.








Wednesday, May 1, 2013


I’ve been thinking a lot about transition lately; moving will do that to you.

Of course, I am not only in the midst of what one might call domestic transition - I am also transitioning professionally, moving from the position of installed pastor to what we cutting-edge types in the church are now calling Transitional Ministry; after eleven years in one place, I am now an Interim Pastor, serving the Smyrna church for, as I told one young friend, more than a month, but less than forever.

It seems like transition is all over the place these days. The Committee on Ministry looks after churches in transition; indeed, the presbytery itself is searching for a Transitional Presbyter; and the PC(USA) continues to transition from what it was into, quite literally, Lord knows what.

Of course, I wouldn’t be The Preacher® if I didn’t use this as an excuse to do some etymological work. So, what is transition, anyway?

Merriam-Webster defines transition (noun) as the process or  period of changing from one state or condition to another.

In its plural form, Transitions™ is a brand of photo-chromic eyeglass lens – the kind that  go from clear inside to sunglassy outside.

In genetics, Transition is a point mutation that changes a purine nucleotide to another purine (A ↔ G) or a pyrimidine nucleotide to another pyrimidine (C ↔ T). Don’t ask me – I was an English Major.

In wrestling, Transition is the movement from one grappling hold or position to another, while in basketball, Transition is what one calls the change from defense to offense, or vice-versa.

Of all these, I particularly like the last two definitions, for a couple of reasons.

I can imagine the struggle of Jacob with God that dark night by the Jabbok river; the grunting, sweating, grabbing and twisting, each transition symbolic of Jacob’s experience: each clench, each escape and subsequent hold evoking his hard headed, hard fought approach to life, and the constant, unceasing change in store for his progeny.

Then again, I think about the importance of transition to winning basketball games. Each basket or possession change is like a little ending, as offense changes to defense; but it is also a new beginning, as defense now goes on the offensive. In those moments of transition, much can happen – baskets made, opponents worn down, momentum changed -  if a team recognizes the value of that transitional moment, and approaches it with specific goals in mind, and the plans to achieve them. Red Aurebach, legendary coach of the Boston Celtics, was perhaps the first to exploit this in-between time, advocating the fast break, in which the offense exploits that time of change to push the ball down the court and score.

As Interim Pastor for the Smyrna Presbyterian Church, it is my task to help the Session and congregation make the most of this ‘in between time,’ helping to identify, in the midst of change, the goals to which God is calling us,  the tools and resources he has provided, and the best way for us to use those resources in this time and place. May God bless us in this time of transition.