Report Card - Part 1

So the first two things on my list are:

• Hang out with the disciples…
• Let them see you at your best and your worst…

I did the most "hanging out" in New Paris.  And what a blast.  The culture there lends itself to very relational ministry.  At the other two places I've been, people are more closed off and don't value "hanging out" the way rural folks do.  I think I did my best hanging out ministry there, and enjoyed it immensely!!!  I wished I would have instituted more of this in my ministry at Concord and Cornerstone...

As far as letting people see me at my best and worst, well, I think I've probably done that...even to a fault!  I've always tried to be myself and just let people deal with me as I am.   There have been times when I've felt like I had to "be on my best behavior" or even become somebody I'm really not.  For those times, I am sorry.  I'm also sorry if my "at worst" has actually been damaging to someone or to their faith.  I am sure that's the case, and I'm thankful for God's amazing grace to cover my booty when I do those things!!!

Stay tuned for more grades to follow!

Jesus' Method of Discipleship!

So as I wind down my ministry as a pastor, and as my TPP kids are receiving their report cards, I've been thinking about grading myself on my last 14 years as a pastor.  I'm using these requisites as a baseline.  Mike Yaconelli summarized Jesus' methods in building followers for him like this.  I think is a great way to measure faithfulness...so over the next few blogs, I'll be pondering these things.  I'll also be asking the Lord to show me how I can live this out in my new ministry going forward.  Thanks for hangin' with me!

Jesus’ Method Of Discipleship

• Hang out with the disciples…
• Let them see you at your best and your worst…
• Teach truths that none of your disciples can grasp at the moment…
• Avoid crowds…
• Go slowly…
• Spend hours in solitude…
• Don’t worry about opposition…
• Ignore criticism…
• Don’t expect immediate results…

Why?

So I just read this book called "What the Dog Saw."  And the chapters explore such pressing questions as:

Why are there all kinds of gourmet mustards and stuff but only one ketchup really seems to dominate the world?

Why do some people just seem to attract dog bites and others seem to just woo an animal into submission?

Why do some people "choke" and some panic and what's the difference?

Why do we sometimes try to manage problems that are really just easier to solve?

I must say, it was a really good read.  What are you reading?  And, if you'll pardon the expression, why?

Ne pas oublier!

Now don't forget!  Blog is short for weblog...a sort of web based diary.  Blague is French for joke.  They are pronounced the same, and it is not by mistake that I call my blog a blague.  In other words, it's Brett's joke!

So please try to remember that in nearly every post, I am inserting some "Brettly" humor!  Enjoy!

How to Solve the Icicle Problem!

So with all this snow there is lots and lots of talk about icicles.  To the left is an actual photo of icicles covering our home. 

Now there are at least a few big problems with icicles.  One is how to spell the word.  I think I finally got that right.

The other problem is death.  Apparently, falling icicles are causing large amounts of death.

So, I have the solution.  I noticed that my unheated garage has no icicles.  Neither does the unheated, uninhabited house across the street.  Aha, I said.  Icicles are caused by our universal enemy: heat.   Therefore, I have turned off our furnace.  Problem solved!  Now I suggest you go and do likewise.

#&*#@$%*!

So yesterday was just one of those days I guess.  It started out OK, but for whatever reason, my nerves were a mess.  I was disappointed in myself for not having better control of my kids at TPP.  Then I walked outside to slip and slide to my car, only to clean it off again...only to not be able to get up the street and had to find an alternative route home.  Then I had to shovel our sidewalks and parking places, again.  Then I was going to try to fix the brand new lamp that arrived yesterday but alas, I broke it worse.  And I guess I just snapped.

The stream of filth from my mouth wasn't pretty.  I felt bad for Carla who was privileged to witness this all.  (She is SO gracious!!!)  But I guess I just had to get it all out.

So last night I didn't sleep very well, mostly because I was regretting the way I lost control.  I was reminded of these verses:

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  (James 1:20-21)

Boy amen to that.  And thank God that we have forgiveness!  I'm giving my mouth over to Him today that I might use it to bring glory, honor, and praise...  I'll let you know how that works out for me just as soon as I deal with those kids, and that hill, and the shoveling, and that stupid-piece-of-crap-no-good-cheap-monkey-metal lamp...

Snow Fatique!

So I stopped in the other day to visit an old friend who has a business here in da burgh.  I hadn't been into his store in a while and was really looking forward to seeing him.   But he was in a bad mood.  In fact, everyone in the place was in a bad mood.  In fact, it seemed like on that day, everyone in Pittsburgh was in a bad mood!

It seems like perhaps we are suffering from snow fatigue!  Too much shoveling.  Too many depressing forecasts.  Too much slipping and falling.  Too little sunshine and warmth!

But alas...Spring is but around the corner.  Cheer up my friends, for these days will soon be passed.  And then we can once again begin the season of "hot enough for ya?!"

Ooh, that smell!

So I'm with a group of people the other day at TPP for our staff meeting lunch.  All the sudden someone starts singing "ooh, that smell!"  At first, I checked to make sure that I wasn't having a Grandpa Probert standby sandwich: Limberger Cheese.  No, just ham and white American. 

Then he starts laughing and says that he and his wife woke up to WDVE on the radio and the Skynard song "Ooh, That Smell."  We had a brief conversation (frequently interrupted by him singing another soundbyte of that glorious song) about why you get a song stuck in your head.

The problem is, we never figured out why.  Any ideas?  And why is it usually a song we really don't care for anyhow?  I'd like to thank you, Wayne, for allowing me to have that ridiculous song "Ooh that smell" stuck in my head for like a week now.  If you'll excuse me, I'm going to step out onto my front porch and sing it at the top of my lungs...maybe that'll help.

Life is a Parade...

So Carla and I were sitting here this morning enjoying a cup of hot beverage and doing some online shopping for our new home when there is a knock at the door.  Turns out, it is yet another new neighbor who comes to welcome us to the neighborhood.   (So far, this is shaping up to be the friendliest neighborhood we've ever lived in...)  Turns out it is a man who I'll call Tom (mostly because his name is Tom!) who is 78 and is the son-in-law of our recently deceased next door neighbor.  He was incredibly friendly, and very interesting!  He was a computer installer/programmer since 1959!  As he talked about how computers have changed in the 20 years that he has been retired, he made the statement that life is like a parade...

...he said that when you watch a parade, you really just focus on what is right in front of you.  You might try to glimpse for a moment at what just passed, or try to see what might be immediately next, but for the most part your focus is on the moment. 

Wow.  The wisdom of a man 30 some years my senior.  Lord, give me the strength today to live in the moment....with everything I have.  But let me appreciate Who you have been in the past and Who you will always be...

Did I Say Something?!

Aight...time for true confessions.  When I'm not setting the kitchen on fire (right now, I'm making one of my favorite African delicacies...wali na maharagi.  Can you tell Carla's working tonight?!), and even when I am, I find myself talking to myself a lot.  Is this bad?  I heard somewhere that it is a sign of genius.  OK, where I heard that?  I said it to myself!  Sometimes, I pretend like I'm talking to Shadrach...somehow, that makes it seem acceptable. Or better yet, I'll call it praying!  I'll talk to myself but convince myself that I'm really not...that I'm talking to God.  That kind of holyfying something can make it all better!!!   So what about you...do you talk to yourself?  Why?  For me, it seems to be therapeutic, and almost a method of more effective thought.  Make sense?  You too?  Who said that?

LOA, ABLC, LMNOP? H-E-L-P!!!!

So I only have a month left as a pastor in the United Methodist Church, and I'll be proudly serving that out with the people called Cornerstone.  But, oh what a quandary this creates!?!!!  For who knew that I needed....a STATUS!!!

Yes, apparently at the end of February my status as an ordained elder in the UMC is in jeopardy because I will not be appointed to serve a local church.  But, alas, there is the ABLC option...appointed beyond the local church.  But is my ministry w/ The Pittsburgh Project a legitimate expression of my ordination to "word, order, and sacrament?"  Probably not...

So I have requested a VLOA...a voluntary leave of absence.  This gives me 5 years (I think...I never read the book...) by Book of Discipline to either lose my ordination or get into a real ministry of word, order, and sacrament.  I guess I'll just take my chances!!!

Fortunately, I believe my real S-T-A-T-U-S is found in my relationship with J-E-S-U-S!  And here I thought I was F-R-E-E!   You can check out John 8:36 if you don't believe me...

So You Say You Want a Revolution?

So I was in the Pittsburgh Project staff meeting on Wednesday.  They meet every Wednesday at noon, share a meal, a few announcements, and then have Bible study and discussion.  Good stuff.  This week the topic was "The Pittsburgh Project (TPP), Revolution or Institution?"

The Scripture basis was 1 Chronicles 12:32, an interesting choice.  Wayne, our leader, was explaining that TPP was looking for people who understood the times and knew what the people of God should be doing.  He further explained that TPP started as a very revolutionary idea nearly 25 years ago...that blacks and whites should live together in peace...that the "haves" and the "have nots" can live side by side and share life, not based on governmental mandates or programs, but on the Word of God and the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Good stuff indeed.

So the question remains for you and me, wherever we are today, do we want a revolution or an institution?  In our churches, in our lives, in our families, in our neighborhoods?  The real question is, what do you think Jesus wants?  Hint: Look at what He did...

Mzungu!

So today at the Pittsburgh Project, I was teaching my little ones a few Swahili words.  So now they're calling me Bwana Brett...but that's a different story.  So then I'm home this evening and while Carla's working, I'm just jammin some bluegrass on the ole guitar.  While I'm playing, our dog Shadrach decides to lie down.  Well he starts walking around in circles like 437 times before he decides that he found the right spot.   What a goof...and yet how are we like that?!?!  In fact, in the area of Africa that I lived as a Peace Corps volunteer, the word for white person is "mzungu."  OK, you ready for the humbling reality of what that word literally means? 

It means: person who keeps going around in circles!!!

So as I'm closing out my last month of preaching at Cornerstone and beginning my new ministry at the Pittsburgh Project.  And as we're getting all settled into our new house, and as life is crazy, I'm trying to remember the truth of Psalm 46:10..."be still and know that I am God..."  In other words, I'm trying to not be such a mzungu!!!

Fear Not

In the midst of the move an' 'at, fear not, for lo, I am blogging, even unto the end of the age.  I just don't have time right now...

But just as you have seen my blog go, so you shall see it return...

To "multi" or "mono," this is the question...

So the other day I'm having breakfast with a couple of my best friends.  While we're eating and talking, I'm texting and taking calls and reading my emails and checking facebook and tweeting and thinking of my next joke and composing my next Sunday message and worrying and praying and interrupting and....well, you get the picture.  Why am I doing this?  Because this is what culture tells me is healthy.  The more you can do at once, the better (Extra Blague de Brett Bonus!!!!  Fill in the blank!!!) ____________  you are. This, my friends, is the art of multitasking...

So one of my friends says, are you sitting down?, he deleted his facebook account.  WHAT?  Are you crazy?  You shall be shunned!!!  What about that Bible verse, it's in there somewhere, I think, that says woe unto the facebookless, or sum'n like that?  How you could fall so far?  How will you live? 

After I work through my shock, he simply looks at me and says that he thinks his calling in this new year is to "monotask."  To focus on one person or thing at a time...and only one thing at a time...and give it his whole attention.  What a concept, but as an old professor of mine used to say, "I'm afraid he might be right...."

The Winter Storm of the Decade!!!

So here we are...smack dab in the middle of the biggest winter storm we've seen all decade.  That's right, you heard me, the whole decade (which began seven days ago...). 

To the left I've included a picture of what our neighborhood looks like right now.  (Note: there really isn't anything there but white.  Get it, Mom?)  Please don't mistake this picture for ghosts eating marshmallows in a styrofoam room.

So I have some thoughts on surviving this incredible storm which will probably doom us all:

1.  Drive really fast.  That way you'll get past the place where you might wreck quickly and avoid the wreck.

2.  Don't stop at stop signs.  That way you won't slide or spin out.

3.  Stock up on strawberry Pop-tarts.

4.  Call everybody you know every 5 minutes and ask them how the roads are.

5.  Cancel any activities you may be in charge of at least 48 hours before the first flake drops.

6.  Call the coordinator of any activities you are not in charge of at least every 15 minutes to see if they canceled the activity yet.  (Don't forget to ask them how the roads are.)

7.  Frequently update your facebook and twitter about the snow and your feelings about it. 

Turn to What, or Who!?

Big news in Christian circles this week: Brit Hume tells Tiger Woods to turn to the Christian faith to straighten out his life.  Now on the surface, that seems like great advice, and to be honest, I think Brit's intentions were fantastic.

My issue however is that Christianity never straightened anyone's life around.  Christianity is just another religion, and one that is fallen, at best.  If anything, Christianity can just mess up a persons life.

Now before you think I've fallen further off my rocker, let me explain.  What Tiger Woods needs, what I need, what you need, what Brit Hume needs...is Jesus Christ.  Not Christianity.  Not religion.  Not a set of moral standards and behavioral modification techniques that don't really work.  But Jesus Christ.  The Word makes it pretty clear...HE came to seek and save the lost, not His followers, or at worst, the institution they've created...

What's "New?"

So as I sit here at the dawn of a new year, I wonder what's new.  As I continue my journey to know what God has in store for me next, I wonder what's new.  I know that 2010 will be a year of significant changes, and many new things, but I wonder what's new.  If only we could see down the road to know where we'll be walking, but then that is not God's mysterious way!

One thing I wonder is why so many people are called to start new churches, but so few are called to start new ministries.  Many have asked me "are you going to start your own church?"  The answer on about 14 different levels is NO.  Part of my struggle with that is in the question itself..."own church."

Part of it is that so many seem to be starting churches in affluent areas (like Cranberry Township) and yet churches in places like Bellevue are going under.  I believe part of the reason for that is "church" is still popular with the relatively wealthy, but ministry is what is needed to the masses (and I would argue, by the Lord Himself).  Because churches tend to focus on themselves (despite good attempts and mission statements to the contrary), ministry sometimes doesn't happen as well through the church.  Plus churches tend to generate capital, and especially if you start one in an affluent area.  But ministry takes resources, financial and otherwise, in order to "succeed."  In other words, starting ministries is so much harder than starting churches...but did Jesus say this would be easy?

So as I wonder what's new, I know for me it is NOT starting a new church.  But one thing I do ponder is whether God is calling me to start a new ministry somewhere in the Pittsburgh area.  What's new?  Who knows...but you can join me in praying about it...

Happy New Year!

May God's peace and blessings be manifest through your life in the coming year! Here are some more pix of our new house. Our address as of January 15th will be:

Brett and Carla Probert
3970 Brandon Road
Pittsburgh PA 15212

I will still be serving Cornerstone but no longer living in the parsonage. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Just a few quick thoughts before I take a blog-break for Christmas:

1.  Merry Christmas everyone.  May you know that "God became flesh and dwells among us!"

2.  We can't wait to move into our new home...closing date is January 15 and moving date is January 18.  This is a picture of the front of it.

3.  I hope everyone enjoys the gifts we bought for them this year.  We cheerfully give, because He has given us so much...

4.  Thank you all for your prayers for Carla's dad.  We continue to commit him and his health into the Lord's hands...it's always in His hands anyhow, it's just that now we seem to know it a little more...

Merry Christmas, and may you be blessed and be a blessing in 2010.

And the Lord sayeth "Behold! I watcheth over the clunker!"

So I'm driving along the other day in my "quart of oil every 1,000 mile/gallon of antifreeze every 2,000 mile/quart of tranny fluid every 3,000 mile" ten year old Saturn when alas, there is a buck.  I mean alas too 'cause there was like no time whatsoever to do anything about him.  He was big and beautiful and running about 275 miles/hour.  I hit the brakes just about the same time I hit him!  BAM!

So I'm thinking...great...there goes my beautiful clunker of a car.  Prolly took out the radiator and all those doo-hickey's under the hood.  I pulled over into a parking lot, got out of the car, and to what did my wondering eyes appear?  But a couple of strands of deer hair on the hood.  That's it.  No dents (OK, that's a lie...no NEW dents!), no broken anything (OK, again...no NEW broken stuff), no steam from under the hood (or at least more steam than it usually puts out...keeps the wrinkles in the hood under control...).  And I'm like, literally, thank you Lord!

At this time when I'm stepping out on faith, looking down a new uncharted road, and buying a house, I don't need to Bambi-ize my poor car.  Thank you Lord for watching over the clunkers...both the cars, and the people!

Backwards, Part II

So a few days (weeks!) ago I blogged about how we have the "great commission" of Jesus to His followers kinda backwards.  This is the second thing that I've been kicking around lately that I think the church (universal) in America has backwards.

I believe that we have become almost incapable of interpreting Scripture except through the eyes of Paul.  Not that Paul is a bad guy.  Not that Paul's writings aren't a crucial part of the Bible.  It's just that Paul interprets the gospel to how it applies to organization.  That's not bad, but that was contextual to Paul's world at the time.

It seems to me that we, however, can no longer read the Bible apart from the lens of the organization...the church.  So we miss the point.  We don't understand the radical nature of the gospel...the message of Jesus. 

My prayer is that I might be able to start to read the Bible with fresh eyes...not the eyes of the organizational church, but the eyes of one simply seeking to follow Christ....

Reflections on Shopping

So I was doing some Christmas shopping on Saturday.  I spent some time at the Ross Park Mall.   Incredible...a bunch of rude, sorrowful, pushy, selfish people gathered in one place ostensibly to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world!  I mean, I had a good time, but more because I just treated it as an adventure and a study of humanity.

I was also shopping in the Strip District in the 'burgh.  If you've never been there, shame on you!  It was a totally different experience.  The streets and stores were jammed, but the attitude of people seemed very different.  People were polite, smiling, and seemingly enjoying their time together. 

In fact, I was in one store and was standing waiting to check out.  The lady at the cash register was older and was super friendly despite the fact that you could barely move in this little hole-in-the-wall place.  There were like 7 people in line, but it didn't bother her at all.  She greeted each guest with a hearty Merry Christmas.  The person in front of me was an acquaintance of hers and as he prepared to leave, she leaned over the counter and gave him a big hug.

I was next and she rang me up and I handed her my money and she gave me the change, I remarked that I must not have been as lucky a customer because I didn't get a hug.  She reached over the counter and gave me the biggest bear hug and said with a grin Merry Christmas.   I left the store with a huge smile on my face, and saw the other patrons smiling too.

Now I'm nearly done with my shopping, but do you have any guesses where I'm going back to?

I Have Sinned

Yes, all you Steeler fans, I have sinned.  Last night, in order to speak some hope to a friend, faithful blog follower, and twittermate who just happens to be a Cleveland Browns fan, I tweeted "Go BROWNS."

As you know, it worked.  They won.  We, the Steeler nation, are in deep mourning.

I feel that I must confess that it was I, and I alone, who must bear responsibility for this heinous transgression.  Please forgive me!

And BTW, if my twitter account holds such sway over national events, anyone wanna like pick a stock for me to tweet about and we all invest in it and watch what happens?!

eW evaH tI llA sdrawkcaB

So I think we have it all backwards.  What do you think?  Look at Jesus' words of instruction to the apostles...their marching orders (found in Matthew 28:19-20):

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

He told them (read: US) to do three things:
1. Go
2. Baptize
3. Teach

As I reflect on my leadership of Cornerstone Church over these last 4 1/2 years, I realized that in many ways, I have it all backwards.  Oh we do these things, or we try.   But maybe one of the reasons why we don't see the "kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven" to the extent we would hope is because we do them in the wrong order.  We attempt to teach Scriptural truth.  As we do, we hope that somebody will actually come and listen.  Then if they do, we baptize them...we indoctrinate them into the faith.   Then, and only then, we attempt to get them to "go." 

Problem is, we didn't "GO" to them, so we don't seem to be able to inspire them to "go" to anyone else.  So we keep teaching, and hoping someone will show up to listen.  And we keep baptizing...indoctrinating those few who stumble into our midst.  And we keep trying to get them to go, all the while not going ourselves....

ebyaM ew evah gnihtemos denrut sdrawkcab!!!  tahW od uoy kniht?

Have We Lost Something?

Have we lost something?  By we, I mean the church...the body of believers in this American culture.  The numbers are shrinking, you know.  We're not seeing people come to the Lord like once did, you know.   I'm sure there are lots of reasons and stuff behind it, but one thing I suspect is that we lost something...

What have we lost?  The call to change.  We say we accept people as they are.  And we do.  And we should.  Because God does.  We say come as you are.  And we ourselves do.  And we ourselves should.   Because that is the call of God.

But that's it?  I mean it goes no further?  We just come into a relationship with Him, and that's it.  We just live, and die, and heaven.  The end?

I don't think so, and I believe that is something we have lost.  God calls us to Him...to be accepted just as we are.  But He DEMANDS that we change.  He DEMANDS sacrifice...of our old lives for His.  And that is hard.  Very hard.  And so we resist.  And we don't change.   And we don't demand change of others...

...and we wonder why the grip of faith is slipping in our land?

Livin' For Sunday Mornings...

Here is a recent photo from one of Cornerstone's worship services...NOT!  If you have not ever been here, well we meet in a converted warehouse space and it looks just a little bit like nothing like this!

But we do faithfully gather every Sunday at 10:30 to sing, to pray, to praise, to share the Word of life together...to lift up the name of Jesus Christ.  And in the past 4 1/2 years that I've had the privilege of leading this congregation, I've loved every minute of our worship together...

And yet as I work through my own transitions from being a pastor to serving the Lord in some missional way, I am reflecting on my accomplishments here....and on where I have failed.  And as I lead this church through a time of transition and preparation for a new leader, we need to be reflecting on what we have accomplished together...and where we have failed.  I believe one of the things that we have found it most difficult to do is to be the church in any big way other than on Sunday mornings.

Our budget reflects this...our money, our time, and our facilities are primarily focused on enabling the Sunday morning worship service.  Not that it is bad to come together in worship...it is essential to our faith.  But we must also be the church to the world the other 6 days.  I believe one of my greatest shortcomings in my time here has been to be able to lead us in reaching out...boldly...recklessly...unceasingly...into this lost and hurting world.  One thing I believe we need to strive for as we move forward is to be livin' for Monday mornings, and Tuesdays, and so on...as much as we do for Sundays.

Well I'm a Mouse, and I'm Stirring!

So I'm coming from the gym to our ministry center this morning and there I am, sitting in traffic at a red light.  That is life in Cranberry.  Sitting in traffic at a red light.  I had just been talking to Stan this morning about the old Christmas TV special where the voice recites the beginning of 'T'was the Night Before Christmas.'  When he gets to the "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" part, there is this little mouse in the kitchen stirring something in a bowl and she says "well I'm a mouse, and I'm stirring!"  Funny stuff.

So anywho, I'm sitting at this red light and all of the sudden I see this little mouse run out right into the middle of the intersection (228 and 19, no less!)!  As he begins to scurry about on the pavement, he starts acting very strangely.  You know, going this way, then that.  Running very fast in one direction, then stopping and running very fast in the opposite direction.  He finally and frantically made his way safely to the other side of the highway, hopped the curb, and took off into the grass.

And I'm thinking...I'm that mouse, and I'm stirring!  As I ponder God's ever renewing call on my life, I realize that my time in the suburbs has been like this mouse on the road.  It is just unfamiliar territory to me...it isn't where I really belong.  It's not that it is a bad place...if you're a car.  But I'm a mouse, and I think I have been stirring to find the grass where I belong. 

Lord, make me faithful to follow you....may my prayer be your commands to me iin Proverbs 4:26-27:

"Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.  Do not swerve to the right or the left..."

Hope in the Hood

I took this pic while driving down through Aliquippa the other day.  I was coming back home from spending a few hours with Ben...the 12 year old boy that I "mentor" there.  If you've not been to Aliquippa and you live in the PIttsburgh area, you owe yourself a trip through there.  It is such a depressed place in so many ways.  When the steel industry pulled out a few decades ago, it's like they pulled out the heart and soul of Aliquippa and its people.

But NO!  Take a closer look and you'll see heart, and soul.  Jesus said that the last shall be first, and in many ways that is living out as truth in Aliquippa.  I take heart in a world that is obsesses with "Happy Holidays" and other politically correct crapola that a town in the heart of our region knows where the true hope lies, and is not afraid to display it.

Merry Christmas, Aliquippa.  And may the peace and hope, which can only be found in Jesus Christ (which you apparently already know) be yours this Christmas and always....