reyes-chow :: FAITH

Susan Boyle, my new hero

As I sit here in one of my "offices", I know that pretty much no one here would guess many of the most important things about me: father of three, married for almost 20 years, pastor, national church leader, etc.  At first glance, I am some middle-aged Asian guy, headphones implanted sitting here with my mac sipping a latte. Not all that original here where I live.  I have been the target of surprised reactions to what I do and perfectly aware of the fact that I do not look "the norm"  . . . whatever that means.  I don't hold this against anyone, because most of us are guilty of making initial assessments based on what we see. What else can we do?  We might make educated guesses based on various things, but really how many of us really get to know anyone without interacting, knowing gifts, etc. We know this, but yet, a reminder is good every once in a while.

A friend of mine sent me this link to the show Britain's Got Talent and one of the early performers, Susan Boyle.  And while I do not claim to bring the skillz that she does by any stretch of the imagination, I do commiserate with the feeling of being not taken seriously without ever doing anything to warrant such a reaction.   Be cynical if you want, but this is just one more reminder that we need to always watch out what we assume about other folks.

Take the 7:00 minutes to watch Susan Boyle's rendition of I Have a Dream.

I do not know the rules of the show, but Go Susan Go!

In the beginning there was the Bruce and Carol Show

You are kidding me?  Another couple of church & culture pundit types with another internet radio talk show?  Really?  Yep, beginning May 4, 2009, author of The Tribal Church and pastor, blogger, artist-wannabee and mom, Carol Howard Merritt and yours truly: author of many books in my mind, pastor, techno-hack-wannabee and dad will team up for a new internet talk show, sure to be the best thing since Baconnaise.  

Warning: If this already makes you queasy, stop reading right now because we are all up into this! Here is a quick blurb for this, as of yet titled, internet talk show:

Welcome to __________  where each week, Bruce Reyes-Chow and Carol Howard Merritt, two yahoos from two different coasts get together through the magic of the interwebs to host a talk show focused on faith, politics, culture and life.  Gleaning from the experiences of special guests, questions from call-in listeners and a never-ending well of current issues and church happenings Bruce and Carol will take on issues of the secular and the spiritual. 

Through their collective stunning radio good looks, cutting wit and honed theological and cultural analytic chops, Bruce and Carol will provide listeners with an hour of meaningful entertainment that will nourish the soul, feed the mind and induce an occasional deep and hearty exhale.

In all seriousness, we do think there is a time and place where we each need to step up and be part of something greater than ourselves.  Through our diverse church experiences and a deep common yearning to find the bridges between tradition and innovation, Carol and I will attempt to provide a place where we can discover the challenges and celebrations that God may have in store for us and the world.  We hope you'll find the time to join us.

And while neither of us is wildly radical,  we would like to do this a little differently, balancing our own passions and preferences with the gifts, skills and passions of the larger community.   So we need some help from you . . .

• A NAME: While we do like "The Bruce and Carol Show" we are open to other names, so if you have any good suggestions, let us know. 
• TEAM PLAYAAAAS: We need a few folks that have some extra time to come along side of us and be part of the team.  We are not making any money on this endeavor, but if we ever do, lattes and sushi on us!  We need folks to offer up their names for the following ambiguous, as-of-yet-to-be-fully-determined roles.  Might be a cool internship for someone?  Maybe?  Keep in mind that Carol and I know just about enough in each of these areas to be dangerous, so if you do not want us mucking up your area of expertise, step up!  If you are interested in any of these, please send me a quick resume/letter [Bruce's eMail].
• • Program Producer: Help us to determine topics, structure the program and secure guests; basically keep us in line so the show runs smoothly.
  • Technological Producer: Help us to best use the technologies available to us for live and recorded POD and VOD casting.  Basically tell us what we need to do, how to do it, then help make it happen.
  • Internet Organizer: Coordinate the show's presence and interaction on Twitter, Facebook, blogging and whatever else we need to do do build listenership, instigate conversations and be positively influential.  
• Buzz : While we are a few months out from launching, as you journey through your worlds of ministry and work, feel free to help us get the word out.  Keep up with both Carol and I on twitter [CarolHoward] [BReyesChow] and basically help spread the word as it makes sense and feels right.  Feel to blog and link back to this post to help us find possible team members and we would love for folks to blog review us as we begin the weekly show.

Okay I think that is it for now.  Be sure to mark your calendars now for our first show and we'll "see" you then!

The Bruce and Carol Show unless someone comes up with a better name

May 4, 2009, 9am PST / noon EST

Passionate humility holds the real power of a movement

[image: gret@lorenz]

I have really been thinking a great deal lately about all these "movements" that are being talked about.  Obviously President Obama used the language in a larger social context, but throughout the church, we too are using "movement" language.  While I do love the power of the word, it does seem to be quickly becoming the next words de jour.  That's cool, I am still going to use it . . . at least until CNN names a news show after it.  But I digress.

First, let me say that I do believe there are many movements going on in the church: some dealing with social issues, others institutional change, others theological dogma . . . movements all around us.  Over the past few years, like many others, I have been struggling to find my own place and voice in such movements.  I think that I play a role in some more than others, am welcomed in some more than others and have yet to experience some to their full potential.  What an exciting time we live in, in the church and in the world.

Lately, as I have been talking with folks about church movements I have been struck by the passion, creativity and commonalities.  From this, I have come to at least one conclusion about any group of people coming together in order to be a transforming force; the true impact of any movement lies in the discovery of that holy place between its passions and its limitation.

While I feel like an old guy saying this, I come to this conclusion after nearly 20 years engaged in progressive politics and structures of the larger church, somewhat flaming out of my first call to a traditional congregation and then working towards starting a new postmod'ish congregation that I believe is trying to be a sustainably passionate movement of God's people.  After all of this, I firmly believe that many voices and perspectives are needed, but that in the end it is a passionately humble holy place that creates sustainable change.

Now of course there is great generalizing in this, but here is some of my thinking about that humble holy space.  Passion and conviction sparks a movement: is what keeps us going, it gives us meaning, defines our purpose and sets a common goal.  The most passionate and convicted are the ones who hold the banner high, call those who waver to accountability and hold the fire to any and all who may be taking the movement off course.  But passion and conviction held to an extreme by any group of people, no matter how lofty and noble is the cause, seemingly always fails to acknowledge its limitations and brokenness inherent in any gathering of human beings. 

When challenged, the most strident of a movement retreat into enclaves of like-mindedness and those who were less convicted, but given energy by the community dissipate, are burned again by an experience that was more about being right than the empowerment of people moved to be the change.  When this happens, while the passion may be real and valid, there is no movement, there are simply individual minds throwing stones at a house into which they could not gain entry. Bitterness, indignation and self-righteousness ensue and then the cause can then be labeled as extreme, arrogant and out of touch with "the people" - all of which may be true.  We are then relegated to the side albeit passionate, articulate and prophetic voices.  But the result is that we have lost a community of people, at least for that moment, who have not been allowed to experience the power and grace of communal transformation.  And when this happens, maybe it was not a true movement in the first place.

But.

Movements of genuine change acknowledge their limitations, be it any number of "isms" or other ways it does not honor God.  When this happens the community is allowed to be real, humble, confident and not about a rigidity of purpose.  In fact, I think admitting limitations and dealing with them with integrity and transparency gives more validity to the leaders and the movement itself.  Acknowledging limitations does not signal weakness nor lack of conviction, in fact, it exemplifies our call as Christians to serve as Christ served.

Philippians 2:1-4 - Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  

As a movement grows in number, the process and outcome of the passions and convictions must change and adapt so that real change can happen.  Some surely call this compromising, selling out, etc., but without actual people following, a movement it is not.  As one of my preacher friends once said, "leading without any following is not leading at all, it is you taking a walk."  In the same way, no matter how right one may be, a movement without people is no movement at all.  One becomes the voice crying out in the wilderness,  Sure, some are called to this prophetic witness, but this is not a movement.

As any movement grows, gains momentum and takes its shape, people will join, follow and gain a taste of the passion that is at its heart.  We should rejoice in this when this happens and discover ways to sustain the real power and authority that these movements hold.   These moments of grace that are achieved bring to bear that holy space where I believe God's true transformative power is experienced at its fullest.  Again, this is a precious gift.  Additionally, by the grace of God, if we find ourselves in positions of leadership in these movements, we must not take that this gift lightly.  Our passions and ideas, no matter how well thought-out, articulated and righteous, will lose their power if we cannot live out a humility and compassion for those who whom we claim to serve.

So . . . as I strive to find my own place, my voice, my role/s of leadership or following, I hope to be part of many movements that do in fact impact the church and the world.  But as I do so, I will watch carefully for those times when I or others around me begin to waver from a posture of Christ-like humility, for when we lose that, we are no longer a community grounded in the servanthood of Christ.   And when we fail to be grounded and driven by the humbling grace that is extended to us by God, we lean on our own humanity and that in itself will never be enough.

TN Shooting Reflections

If you have not heard about the shooting that took place in Tennessee this past Sunday when a gunman opened fire in the sanctuary of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC), this is a tragedy that deserves our attention and prayers.

There will be an official denominational letter that Linda Valentine, Gradye Parsons, Byron Wade and I will send out, but I wanted to add my own personal thoughts as I too try to grapple with the events of last weekend.

I know personally when things like this happen, I am overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions:

• compassion for all involved;
• sadness that acts of violence in places of sanctuary happen at all;
• anger at the chosen actions of the shooter;
• frustration about a world that has gotten used to violence;
• hope in the ways folks have responded to show care and comfort;
• called to remember that there are acts of violence around the world every day that do not get noticed;
• pushed to think about forgiveness;
• challenge to embrace the sovereignty of God;

I know that in a vacuum we can debate the nature of God's presence in all things, but for now, I think it is important to sit with our emotions and simply acknowledge that there are times when the world just does not make sense.  And as we are ready and willing we can/must again embrace the fact that at times like this we are reminded that through all of this all we ultimately have to lean on is the love of God brought to us in the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  And more importantly, no matter what may happen, nothing can separate us from that love.

Romans 8:37-39 // ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

In all things this is where I find my comfort.

HOW WE MAY RESPOND
Again, there will be a letter to come out from Linda, Gradye, Byron and myself.  Many of have also sent notes to Second Presbyterian Church located next door that sheltered children during the shooting. In the mean time, please take time to pray for all who are effected by this event and for the countless other acts of violence that go unnoticed in our country and around the world.

I have not yet heard about ways to respond in other ways, but if you know of such things, please be sure to leave a comment and I'll update this post as appropriate.

Theological Elevator Pitch Challenge

A few weeks ago, I was tagged by Doug over at Prog(ressive)Nostication as part of his Theological Elevator Pitch Challenge.  The rules are pretty simple:

Choose a theological concept and write an elevator pitch for the concept. The elevator pitch should not be longer than 50 words, and should be as short as possible if you go over the 50. It should express what you think is the core of a theological concept, and be easily understandable by the average 8th grader.

on Gratitude in 47 words.

Every morning I wake up. 
I breathe. 
I remember that it is God who gives me this life to live.
I thank God. 
I live in the world as if this life gifted to my care matters to God.
I rest and do it all over again.

Not easy, but yet it should be.  Our faith is so simple and yet so complex.

Why FB is a great tool for transitioning from a "Pastoral" to a "Program" church

Due to a variety of reasons - mostly too many freaking people were come to church - about six months ago MBCC decided to intentionally transition from being a "Pastoral Church" to being a "Program Church."  You can see the definitions and characteristic's of each congregational size in the article, How to Minister Effectively in Family, Pastoral, Program and Corporate Sized Chruch by Roy M. Oswald, Senior Consultant, The Alban Institute.

Good stuff if you are into congregational system theory.

To recap, Oswald basically says that that as churches go through stages of growth or decline they require different leadership models and conversely different leadership models can help determine whether or not a church grows or declines.  He does not argue that any one model is optimal, simply points out the obvious, leadership must understand the system if they are to minister well within that system.  I would go so far as to say that it is sinful to ignore the system within which we work as we can unintentionally do harm to a community's health.  But that's just me ;-)

Basics of a PASTORAL CHURCH

• 50-150 active participants
• primary relationship with with the pastor
• most things go through the pastor
• everyone pretty much knows each other
• leadership is interpersonally focused
• most churches thrive at this level

Basics of a PROGRAM CHURCH

• there are pockets of activity, fewer "all-church" activities
• everything does not flow through the pastor, but other leadership take on pastoral functions
• leadership is planning and development focused
• not everyone knows everyone else

MBCC decided to do this once we realized that our growing population really did want to connect, but pretty much everything flowed through me.  And while I was pretty good about not controlling relationships, it became clear that we were growing, we would continue to grow and we needed to make sure that my bandwidth did not hold us back.  This meant a shift in everything from how we stored our data (From my computer to StaffTool) to how we organized small groups (From me instigating and leading to open formation and organizing).

I must admit, I was a tad bit apprehensive.  In an abstract "God-can-do-all-things" kind of way, I knew it could happen, but our track record had not been all that strong.  Still we have boldly moved into this phase and over the past six months have worked through the difficulties of this kind of transition.  There have certainly been some places where things have gone very well and others not so much.  But overall, good God stuff is happening.

From a pastor's view, however, there are certainly some reactions that we have to fight if this transition is going to happen well AND we do not intentionally or unintentionally sabotage the transitions.  Oh, it would be so easy to do, especially if one does not REALLY want to change systems.  If we are not secure in our role as pastor or genuinely do not want to shift in our role, DO NOT try this.  It will suck for everyone.

Getting back to the title of this post, if you do think this is in your future here are some of the doubts that "one" might have with the transition process and then how FaceBook can be a "happy place" for our own insecurities.

The insecurities, apprehensions and doubts.

• People surely can't REALLY connect to the church through anyone but me.
• Folks will not step up and organize, lead and/or follow-through on anything.
• Nothing is happening . . . I should step in save the day.
• I need to have a deep connection with everyone to feed may own needs of pastoral worth.
• Damn, now I will need to really focus on nurturing leadership and big-picture vision.  What excuse will I have now?

How Facebook eases the transition

The brilliance of FB is the public networking and connecting that happens.   All of the insecurities that I may have about leaving the role of  "pastor" of a pastoral church are addressed by the very nature of FB.  My need to be "in the loop" is addressed because as more and more folks from MBCC comment on each others pictures, post on walls and generally interact without I am in still the loop, but not the conduit of the interaction.  The same goes for events, groups and any other planning.  I see that folks are engaging, stepping up, and following through, I have no need to jump in.  Now of course not everything in the life of MBCC happens vie FB, but just enough does to alleviate my overarching fears.

This has all been surprisingly wonderful for me.  We are still figuring out the intracacies of MBCC's version of the Program Church, but from all indications, my fears have not been met with reality and we are slowly but surely making the shift.

Thanks be to FB, God and the church!

What the bleep is going on at MBCC?!?!?!?

First coffee in the "sanctuary" and now this?!?!?!

And this?!?!?!?

As part of our Series "Re|Creation: Meeting God in the Here and Now" we added a few elements to our "normal" worship experience.  In order to expand the ways that we might experience God, we invited folks to participate in any or all of the following activities during the course of the service.  Basically, as the service progressed, as folks felt called they could sit at their table/pew/couch and create or join in one of the communal projects.

• Community mural creation
• Community prayer creation
• Clay sculpting
• Pipe Cleaner Chenille Creation
• Lego creation
• Journaling
• Live Blogging - [Tiffany's Post] [Ryan's Post]

It was a tad bit chaotic and it was certainly was not neat.  We have certainly learned a great deal about ourselves and have discovered some amazing gifts of imagination and artistry.  So far I think the experience has re-affirmed our willingness and ability to be creative and open, while remaining focused on creating a sacred space.

I am proud of us.

[more pictures]

Ritual Roasters, we always knew

The cat is out of the bag as they say and now the subsversive nature of uber-cool urban hipster hangout, Ritual Roasters, may no longer be so cool.  Last week the New York Times highlighted SF's famous roaster in, Cafe Capitalism, San Francisco Style.  But we always knew the truth.  The coffee is certainly good, but lets just admit it, the PR and hype is REALLY where the brilliance lies.  Damn, now we have to acknowledge our lemming-like life go anyway . . . or head on down to Muddy's.

Yet Ms. Hassi, 30, demurs at the suggestion that her cafe espouses Marxist principles. Ms. Hassi said her choice of logos was purely aesthetic.

And the fact that some of the coffee mugs are red, as well as some of  the walls? Again, strictly a design decision, she said.

In fact, Ms. Hassi, 30, who majored in religious studies at Brown, has not read a single word of  Marx or Lenin.

“I’m a capitalist, I’ll admit that,” said Ms. Hassi, who has a second, smaller outlet in San Francisco and soon plans to open a third cafe in Napa, in the heart of the wine country.

Interesting 2005 article here from Wired Magazine on the opening of Ritual Roasters, Cafe 2.0 After the Gold Rush.

Art, Community and Children

[MORE PICTURES]

Last night was our kids' school's annual Children's Art Show and Auction.  There are too many reasons to name why we believe our girls are thriving here, this being only one of them.

We are a school that always talks about community, community, community.  Often people come to the annual tours and says, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone talks about it, but do you really do it?"

I think we do.  The Auction "experience" with all the trauma, turmoil and work is one of the ways we model being in community.   Last night was the 15th annual such event, one of two big fundraisers we put on every year.  I am particularly proud of the fact that our focus is not solely on brining in the Benjamin's but three-fold:

SUPPORT our children by raising money to support vital PTA programs and services;
STRENGTHEN our school and relationships by sharing in a process of planning and leadership;
BUILD our community by gathering for an evening of friendship and fun;

Some would like us to focus more on the money-making aspect, but I think we are better off modeling for our kids the entire process of a community working towards a goal.  This place really is like being in a church community: all the joys and struggles of people brought together around a common center.  This place has basically been an extension of the values that we already try to instill in our kids . . . minus all the Jesus-talk.  We are blessed to be a part of it all.

And then there is the artwork.  This year's school-wide focus was on the Blues.  Guided by artist-in-residence Marcus Shelby, the entire school experienced the story and impact of the Blues.  Our school is one of the highest performing schools in the district - both in testing and in helping to form all-around great kids - and the integration of art and creativity are vital aspects of our success.  Blues inspired art-work along with some of the other creative pieces once again illustrate the impact and importance of art and creativity in the development of our kids.

Plus . . . we won some cool stuff ;-)

Crazy women in my life

[image: official jabc site]

On a recent trip I watched the movie The Jane Austin Book Club.  Yet another movie filled with beautiful and talented Hollywood.  Dramedy escapism at it's finest.  I actually loved the archetypes that were represented, kind of like the church or family.  On their own, they might not get together, but bring them around one thing and maybe, just maybe . . .

It also tangentially reminded me of my own background and how I was raised.  While there were some great men in my life, I think I was pretty much raised by crazy women.  I can't imagine it any other way.  For so/too many of the major events in my life "The Committee" was brought in to help make decisions.  Kim, Joyce, Peggy, Cherita - and others I am sure - and my mom would huddle up over a bottle or three of wine and decide my fate.   Whether it was driving, little league or girls, they were all up in my business.  Each subsequent sibling also had their "Committee" to help make decisions for their lives as well and by this time, Joel was given membership ;-)  It is a tradition.

If you talk to the Reyes siblings, it all started with our Grandma Reyes (AKA Grandma Acoba).  Lady was caaaaaraaaaazzzzzyyyyyy with a capital CUCKOO!  But in a good way.  I have learned much from all my grandparents, but Gma Reyes taught us . . .

• Be passionate
• Wear what you want
• If you are going to be in the game, be all the way in the game
• Take care of your friends
• Eat good food
• Be there when you are needed
• Pretend to be crazy
• Laugh

If Gma were here today, she would point out when I was being a jerk and would make sure I don't turn into total schmuck.

I think I have continued to surround myself with this archetype
Crazy women that is.
I am not naming names, I am not an idiot.

You know who you are.

Thank you!