On the road to Topeka, riding through the flint hills, enjoying time with three clergy colleagues, I am also praying all along the way... I'm praying because I am daring to believe that "God has Great plans for the Great Plains" and that the very best God has for us is still to come. (1 Corinthians 2:9) Similarly, I am praying because I am daring to hope that these next three days in Topeka will be an Isaiah 42:9 type of gathering. A gathering in which we begin to embrace the reality that "...the former things have come to pass." And, that now (right now) God will begin to declare new things to us, so that we can pray, prepare and ready ourselves "Before they spring forth..."
I am also praying that this gathering would not be an exercise in futility. That we could be truly be empowered to put our hands to the work of being a church that once again covers the Great Plains in Prayer, Preaching, Power, Renewal, Evangelism and Discipleship... That we would not just take up the responsibilities of administrative reorganization, but that as clergy, and as united Conferences we could take up the mantle of the passionate and desperate pursuit of God and begin to seek out the plan God has for us, for our churches, and for the communities, the families and the persons that we have been called to reach.
So, What if...
What if today truly became a day of new beginnings? What if today we began to truly unite in risk taking mission? What if today we could begin to not only say we believe in making disciples for the transformation of the world, but we actually began to transform the world by making disciples? What if what was said of the Church in Acts 17:6 was what began to be said of us? And, what if we realized over the next three days that God's plans for the Great Plains are far Greater than any of the plans that have yet been made?
One can only hope... And pray... And...
Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The United Methodist Church at Park City
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Building Tents & Pitching Altars
It was about eighteen months ago that I began to detect that I had something seriously askew in my soul. I had begun an awakening process that I was consciously resisting with all of my strength. And yet, every day, regardless of my best efforts to stay asleep, I knew, I saw, I experienced, and I was consistently reminded that I was awakening to a very disturbing reality.
The reality I was awakening to, was that my world had increasingly become about "maintenance" and about "self-preservation." And, that I had lost my sense of purpose, vision, and of risk taking mission. I began to understand that I had "pitched" my altar (life risking, daily mission with God) and "built" a tent (a new building and a highly predictable position of ministry).
This gradual "awakening" journey of mine, culminated in a personal Epiphany in which I knew that I had personally stopped risking everything to follow Jesus. And, that I had begun asking Jesus to come and bless everything I was "not" doing... I had become a Wesleyan "deviant" in the sense that the world was no longer my parish, and that the parish ("my parish") had become my world. It was from this moment of personal Epiphany that I then knew I had the power to choose to walk a new and a different road than I had ever walked before. So... I did.
Without question, this new road that I chose changed almost every aspect of my life, and affected almost every relationship I had. And, though I still know not where this road will lead, I have this sense of the presence of Jesus, on this road that I am traveling, that I have never had before.
So, does (and will) this road lead to "success" or "prosperity?" Part of me hopes that it will, and yet... part of me remembers my tendency to "pitch my altar and build my tents." So, my pre-determined personal goal, walking forward from this personal Epiphany, is that I would walk where Jesus leads, that I would pitch my tent wherever it is in the World that the Spirit of God leads me to be about the building of an Altar of sacrificial Worship. Somewhere, I believe, where the Church truly needs to be, between the house of God and the world (Genesis 12:8).
Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The Church at Park City
The reality I was awakening to, was that my world had increasingly become about "maintenance" and about "self-preservation." And, that I had lost my sense of purpose, vision, and of risk taking mission. I began to understand that I had "pitched" my altar (life risking, daily mission with God) and "built" a tent (a new building and a highly predictable position of ministry).
This gradual "awakening" journey of mine, culminated in a personal Epiphany in which I knew that I had personally stopped risking everything to follow Jesus. And, that I had begun asking Jesus to come and bless everything I was "not" doing... I had become a Wesleyan "deviant" in the sense that the world was no longer my parish, and that the parish ("my parish") had become my world. It was from this moment of personal Epiphany that I then knew I had the power to choose to walk a new and a different road than I had ever walked before. So... I did.
Without question, this new road that I chose changed almost every aspect of my life, and affected almost every relationship I had. And, though I still know not where this road will lead, I have this sense of the presence of Jesus, on this road that I am traveling, that I have never had before.
So, does (and will) this road lead to "success" or "prosperity?" Part of me hopes that it will, and yet... part of me remembers my tendency to "pitch my altar and build my tents." So, my pre-determined personal goal, walking forward from this personal Epiphany, is that I would walk where Jesus leads, that I would pitch my tent wherever it is in the World that the Spirit of God leads me to be about the building of an Altar of sacrificial Worship. Somewhere, I believe, where the Church truly needs to be, between the house of God and the world (Genesis 12:8).
Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The Church at Park City
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Terminal Velocity
It is the morning of January 1st, 2012. I am a 43 year old, 20 year veteran of the United Methodist Ministry. And, I find myself it seems, in mid-air, hurling through space, having flung myself (6 months ago) from a perfectly good cliff (aka my previous Appointment).
So... What is going to come of this "leap of faith," and of the actions I have taken? 30 days or so below me, if my best efforts fail, lie the rocks of "certain death" for my career, my reputation, my finances, my socio-economic status, and more than I care to list or think about at the moment.
In this leap, I am fully aware that I have reached what could be referred to as "terminal velocity." Around me, life and ministry are all a blur, and are all passing at such a high rate of speed, I cannot begin to perceive it all, and am unable to even pretend to be able to keep up with it.
And yet, nearing the end of my descent, in the core of my heart, there is this sense of knowing, of familiarity, and (strangely enough) of peace. I find myself internally experiencing those surreal moments of heightened and vivid awareness that come to all of us before a collision, or during a critical or traumatic incident. And, though I know not that this venture I am a part of, in planting a new United Methodist Church in Park City, will be survivable, let alone "successful," I do know... I choose to believe... I dare to hope... I frantically trust... that God is Faithful, that Jesus has called me to this "incarnational" action of faith, and that the Holy Spirit will guide, sustain, and complete this Work which God has begun.
Quite honestly, in these most harrowing moments of my ministerial calling, in brushing so near with the worst that could possibly happen, at the very least, I know, I feel, and I can perceive, that I am alive. Alive perhaps, for the very first time. It makes me wonder however, if this is what the call to ministry, and ministry itself, was supposed to be about all along... Faith, risk and leaping.
So, I am asking God, not for a safe or uneventful landing, but instead for a faithful descent on my part. And, that God's Will be done, both in Me, and in this Work in which I have invested my life and risked so much...
I believe a new United Methodist Church in Park City, Kansas, is both God's idea, and God's Will. And, that at the critical moment, as our doors officially open on Sunday AM, February 5th at 11am, that Isaiah 40:31 will come to pass, as I personally seek, and ask to live out, Philippians 1:20. If you Would like to join the leap... jump in with us on Sunday, January 8th, as we begin our pre-launch "exhibition season" Sunday mornings at 11am.
Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The Church at Park City
Zechariah 4:10a
So... What is going to come of this "leap of faith," and of the actions I have taken? 30 days or so below me, if my best efforts fail, lie the rocks of "certain death" for my career, my reputation, my finances, my socio-economic status, and more than I care to list or think about at the moment.
In this leap, I am fully aware that I have reached what could be referred to as "terminal velocity." Around me, life and ministry are all a blur, and are all passing at such a high rate of speed, I cannot begin to perceive it all, and am unable to even pretend to be able to keep up with it.
And yet, nearing the end of my descent, in the core of my heart, there is this sense of knowing, of familiarity, and (strangely enough) of peace. I find myself internally experiencing those surreal moments of heightened and vivid awareness that come to all of us before a collision, or during a critical or traumatic incident. And, though I know not that this venture I am a part of, in planting a new United Methodist Church in Park City, will be survivable, let alone "successful," I do know... I choose to believe... I dare to hope... I frantically trust... that God is Faithful, that Jesus has called me to this "incarnational" action of faith, and that the Holy Spirit will guide, sustain, and complete this Work which God has begun.
Quite honestly, in these most harrowing moments of my ministerial calling, in brushing so near with the worst that could possibly happen, at the very least, I know, I feel, and I can perceive, that I am alive. Alive perhaps, for the very first time. It makes me wonder however, if this is what the call to ministry, and ministry itself, was supposed to be about all along... Faith, risk and leaping.
So, I am asking God, not for a safe or uneventful landing, but instead for a faithful descent on my part. And, that God's Will be done, both in Me, and in this Work in which I have invested my life and risked so much...
I believe a new United Methodist Church in Park City, Kansas, is both God's idea, and God's Will. And, that at the critical moment, as our doors officially open on Sunday AM, February 5th at 11am, that Isaiah 40:31 will come to pass, as I personally seek, and ask to live out, Philippians 1:20. If you Would like to join the leap... jump in with us on Sunday, January 8th, as we begin our pre-launch "exhibition season" Sunday mornings at 11am.
Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The Church at Park City
Zechariah 4:10a
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