"Hey Daddy! Watch this!"

I am a man, like so many men, who has to be so very many things in the workings and responsibilities of his everyday life...

But... one of the things I am, is a man who is the father of a son.  And, what an interesting experience that has been.  Fatherhood itself is truly one of the greatest honors I ever have ever been entrusted with by our Creator.  But, to be the father of a son... that was something I thought I would never be given the opportunity to experience.

My little man is 3 years old, and rapidly approaching 4 years of age.  And, he is ALL boy, and all action, adventure, running, jumping, climbing, hitting, sword fighting, tackling, wrestling, racing, throwing, smiling, laughing, fishing, hunting, shooting, and so much more!  His favorite phrase in the midst of all of his daily adventurous exploits is... "Hey Daddy!  Watch this..."  And, without exaggeration, he literally says it ALL of the time!  Truly, I could not even begin to count the number of times I hear him say it in a day.  And, to be completely honest, I treasure the sound of it.  I love it.  That phrase, to me, is a reminder of who I am and who God has both called, and given me the opportunity to be and to become.  It is a phrase that empowers me to stand upright, walk taller, and to speak more clearly.

"Hey Daddy!  Watch this..." is a phrase that shapes and molds me.  And, yet it haunts me as well.  It haunts me because for every time I hear it in a day, I am reminded that it was a phrase I personally, as a boy, a son, and as a young man, NEVER spoke myself.  Never.  It is a phrase, that though when I hear it now, it fills an empty space in my soul, it also echos through me into the depths of a dangerously empty and wounded place in my heart.

I remember so many times as a child, and so many different occasions, when I wanted to know someone was watching me.  Times when I needed to know I was seen, or when I wanted to be doing something that a father-figure would take notice of and remind me of who I was and of what I could become, accomplish, or dare to do.  Times like when I was receiving an award at a Cub Scouts / Blue & Gold Banquet, or like when I broke my finger playing Catcher in "Little League" and finished the game anyway, or like when I was competing in "Punt, Pass and Kick" and finished in the top 5, or like the time my team tied in a championship football game in 6th grade after a double overtime, in which the game was finally called a "draw" because of rain, mud and lightning.  Those were the times I wanted a father to be there to say...  "I see you!"  "I'm proud of you!"  "You are my boy!"  "Way to be tough!"  "Good job, Son!"

Maybe there is someone out there reading these words of mine who "gets" the sentiment or the essence of my experience, and the void of "Fatherlessness" in your heart is like the void in mine.  If who you are, is like who I am, I want to encourage you, and to remind you that there is now, and always has been One who has seen, and One who can see, you.

2 Chronicles 16:9a, is a reminder of the presence of the eyes of God and the relentless search He is all about in and through each and every day.  It says, "For the eyes of the LORD search to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those (or the one) whose heart is completely His..."  And, for me, this is a reminder that, in relationship with Jesus, there is always One Who sees me, and One to Whom, I can now say... "Hey Daddy!  Watch This!"

May God bless us both with hope and desperation enough to cause us to cry out to Him and say... "Hey Daddy!  Watch This!"

Keep On Keepin' On...

Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The United Methodist Church at Park City

Lightning Bugs...

So, I'm a walker...  It's what I do.  Every night, me and my dog "Jack" put in about 3-4 miles on the road in front of my house.  It's just kinda how I process my day, pray for the people I love, and pray about all of the things I experienced throughout the day.  And, for a number of reasons, this summer has been a great summer for walking at night.  Almost no bugs, infrequent thunderstorms, and "after dark" has definitely been the most "tolerable" time to be outside.

A few nights ago, around 11pm, we had one of those famous "outta-no-where" Kansas thunderstorms that the weathermen can't seem to figure out how to predict.  It literally popped up just south of our house a few miles, and started heading right for us.  And, it just happened to do so as I was about halfway into my 3-4 miles for the night.  So, as I said earlier, I'm a walker, but I'm also a compulsive... finisher.  I just hate to not "go the distance" and to not be able to complete all of my "miles" when I walk.

So... I think you may be getting the picture here...  The storm in front of me was building, heading my way, and I'm still walking south... right into the storm.  I'm not sure why, but I just felt compelled to watch it, and, yes, to get closer.  Rain has been so foreign to all of us this Summer, and the whole scene unfolding in front of me was just... drawing me in.  It truly felt like I was supposed to be walking... into the storm.  So, I kept on doing just that, walking forward, into the storm.  

Just above, and in front of me, the dark night sky was a huge contradiction.  I was walking directly beneath a deep blue, crystal clear, blazing starry night, while just ahead of me, billowing clouds were filling the sky, and bolts and blasts of lightning were illuminating the whole massive structure that had been building in front of me.  And, there were these amazing "wispy" clouds that looked almost like the silhouettes of soldiers fleeing a fallen battlefield, with the sounds of "battle" blasting from the cloud mass behind them.  For lack of any better words, the whole sight was truly awesome!

But, then my eye caught a different glimpse of light.  Something more steady, consistent, and yet overwhelmingly subtle.  It was about 200yds in front of me, and as it captured my attention, I stopped looking at the storm and started looking at a valley that was literally aglow.  No, not aglow with fire, or with lightning, but with... lightning bugs!  I mean to say there were more lightning bugs in that little 5-6 acre valley than I had ever seen in any one place, at one time, in my entire life.  So much so, that I literally stopped in my tracks, ignored the storm above me, and just watched those lightning bugs light up the darkness of the night, and that little valley beneath the storm.

There was a crazy, wild, violent storm going on all around me, but, as I stood there in the midst of it, I felt like I was supposed to be there, seeing that sight, watching it all unfold.  And, though I knew (and know well) the dangers of lightning strikes in Kansas...  I felt safe, protected, covered.  An interesting thought came to me in that moment...  Is it possible that God wants the Church to be like that, a gathering of people who light up the darkness wherever and whenever they go into the world as individuals, but also a people who assemble together in the midst of (or even spite of) the world's storms, creating an "impromptu place" where others can see "light" and be drawn in, or drawn toward, and feel safe?  Is it possible that the Church can be a very different kind of place than it has been for the most part?  A place that instead of seeming unapproachable to the road weary, it stands out to travellers or refugees walking along a road that is being consumed by a storm, or a battle, or a disaster, that they cannot understand?  Is it possible that the church is supposed to be a place that beckons those who find themselves disoriented and alone in the darkness of a "life valley," or in presence of the unrelenting "violence" of life's storms?  Is it possible that we can be a different kind of place, and a different kind of people, than we have been for a very long time?

This is the "different" kind of a thing that me, my wife and kids, and a hand-full of our friends are trying to do here in Park City, as we trust God to help us plant and grow, a brand new church, in a brand new place.  Will you come join us?  Our first "Preview Worship Experience" is Sunday night, August 28th from 6-7pm (1510 East 61st Street North / Children's ministry provided!).  We'd love to have you stop in and check us out, and we'd love the opportunity to become your church.

Keep On Keepin' On...

- Pastor Rob Schmutz
The United Methodist Church at Park City

Sacred Pavement?!?

(The potential impact of prayer walking on community and church revitalization.)

So, an inebriated friend of mine (back in my “Pre-Jesus” days) once looked at me with that "I've had too much to drink, and now I'm brilliant!" look in his eye and said; "We're all connected Schmutz... All of us!  All across the country...  Pavement!  Pavement connects all of us!"  And, now, all these years later, in a truly sober minded reality my-self, I have to wonder if there might just be something applicable in that interesting memory from the darkness of my past. 

What might actually be the spiritually practical implications and applications of the connectedness of “pavement” for all of us as a "connectional" church / denomination?  True, we can (and do) use pavement (roads of all types) to get to meetings, conferences, and even to churches, but what if there were more possibilities?  What if we could do more, and be more, and see more, and experience more, by using or utilizing our pavement in a different way? 

What if this Denominational affiliation which we all hold so dear, that has in many ways become an "Untied" Methodist Church, could become truly "United" again, and maybe for the very first time?  What if there is a "sacred" place that is calling to us, beckoning, inviting, and proclaiming possibility, right before our very eyes, right in front of our faces, and right beneath our very feet?  What if there is a sacred place that is yet to “be,” and if we would, or could, only effectively engage it, we could find that what we did with it had the potential to change all of us and everything all around us?

It was Jackie Pullinger who said "The problem with most Christians, is that they have hard hearts and soft feet, but what God wants is for us to have soft hearts and hard feet."  So, what if now, in the midst of so much of the rubble (see Nehemiah 2) of declining, dying, and closing churches, we began to work together at callousing our feet and softening our hearts, and simultaneously had our eyes opened to the needs of our communities (our mission fields) by setting our feet in motion as we walk through, and pray for, the very ground upon which we have been planted.

As a United Methodist Pastor (approaching my 20^th year of ministry), my heart is truly for the revitalization of the United Methodist Church.  And, I cannot help but believe that right now, at this particular time in the history of our denomination, we have the tremendous opportunity to be a part of bringing that revitalization about through faith in verses like 2 Chronicles 7:14, application of verses like Genesis 13:17, and the inspiration of passages like Nehemiah 2:12-18.  My heart says, let's give our best shot! Let's be willing to do what we've never done, in order to be and become what we have never fully been, as Pastors, Congregational Leaders, and Local Church Members... Let's take Jesus, and this “Methodist” thing, to the streets and see what God does with it!

It was John Wesley who said "The World is my Parish..." and, I'm quite certain he was including roads, streets and sidewalks in his proclamation.  So, let's get to “it” and see what God does with “it,” and with all of us as we do!

If this idea interests, or intrigues you, if you have grown weary of “business as usual” in the local church, if you have lost your way in the familiarity of the status quo, I would like to invite you on a new adventure.  I would like to invite you on an adventure that starts right here in the heart of the Kansas area, in the Wichita East District.  On Sunday afternoon, August 28th from 2 – 4pm, you are invited to the new United Methodist Church at Park City (1510 East 61st Street North, Park City, Ks, 67219) where I will be leading a Prayer Walking Training for United Methodist Clergy, Lay Leaders, and Local Church Members, who are interested in exploring the Holy Ground all around them, and the Pavement that connects us all.

To register for this upcoming event, please call Taryn Pierson at the Wichita East District Office (316)684-6652, check out our website over the next few weeks (www.churchatparkcity.com), or look up “The United Methodist Church at Park City” on Facebook for more info.

Rev. Rob Schmutz,
The United Methodist Church at Park City