Ruth Ann's Mission Statement

I shared this in worship today - it's my personal mission statement (I don't really like the sound of that, but...) I wrote it originally for my first doctoral seminar, but it's remained important to me for the past 7 years as a statement of my spiritual identity. Every line has a specific scriptural reference. Do you have a mission statement, key Bible verse or quote that provides special direction for your life? What is it?

Standing at the well of my ancestors,

my purpose is

to drink the living water of Jesus Christ,

to celebrate its becoming in me

a spring gushing up to eternal life,

and to pray that rivers of living water

will flow from my believing heart

so that I may offer

at least a cup of cold water

to each thirsty person

and barren desert place I encounter

until justice rolls down,

the deserts all bloom,

and the plain water set aside to purify my life

has become new wine.

How to leave a comment

Several people have told me they've been here to read the blog, but never having used one before they are not sure how to leave a comment. It's not too difficult!

Below each post that I write is the word "comment." You start by clicking there. This will take you to a screen with a box where you can begin writing your comment. If you do not have a Google account, you will need to do that first.

All that is asked of you for a Google account is a valid email address and whatever password you designate. You will not get advertising or spam from this. The reason it is important is that lots of not so nice people in the world will put extremely inappropriate things on a blog, and I have to have a way to say "no, that person is not allowed to write here anymore." I can't do that if you are not tied to an email address.

To set up a Google account, select that option below the box where you can write your comment. You will be taken to a new web page where you give an email address and your password. Then there are some silly looking letters that you have to type in the box they provide. A computer can't read these crazy letters, so you are just confirming that you are actually a human being and not some automated advertising-bot. When you submit this page you now have a Google account that you can use from now on to leave messages on my blog or on others. You will be taken back to a page where you can leave your comment.

The first part of your email (before the @) will be posted as a signature on your comment. If it's not related to your name in a way that allows me to figure it out, I would appreciate your signing your post or also sending me an email so I know who you are and can say "thank you, thank you!!" in person.

Three Promises

I'm not sure exactly what he has up his sleeve, but a few weeks ago in a staff meeting, Pastor Dan gave each of us an assignment. We were to come back to the next staff meeting with a list of three promises. "What three things would you want to say our church could promise to anyone who came here?"

We got off to a great start because no one (with the possible exception of Jan Slagter, who forgets nothing) came to the next meeting with our list ready. And then we had a couple of meetings where there wasn't time to get to that agenda item. (You may not be aware of this, but I have learned that at Woodbury/Peaceful Grove there is a regulation that one meeting may not end until it is time or past time for the next meeting on the schedule to begin. You may want to check the calendar before you attend any more meetings and bring a snack if it looks clear for more than a few hours.)

I have been thinking about Dan's question. What are the first things that come to your mind?

One of the first things that came to my mind was"authenticity" - we promise to be a church where people do not pretend to be other than we are. If we are confused, we do not try to act like we have all the answers. If we are lost and need support, it shows. If we are joyful, we dance in the aisles.

For people under a certain age (I'm 43 and I'm apparently under that age) authenticity is often associated with informality. We busters do not trust "dress for success" and don't appreciate "your Sunday best." We are often unimpresssed with signs and symbols of institutional authority. I don't prefer to wear vestments except for special occasions, for example, and I don't especially like being called Pastor Ruth Ann...I'd rather just be Ruth Ann. (Call me Ruth, though, and I'll freak out on you.)

For other people, and I do get this, informality suggests disrespect. Formal vestments suggest that this most reverend pastor person is set apart for holy work in this time and place. "Pay attention" the cloth yells.

One time my son, Jonathan, gave the sermon at my church. He was around 19 then, and he did a wonderful job. What was so fun about it for me is that he kept saying all of these things that are very important to me but I had no memory of telling him directly - in other words he had picked up many of my most important values by spending all those years at home and in church with me. But on this occasion Jonathan wore jeans that were holy in the wrong way. Very expensive, but ripped out. Not to long after that I got a nasty anonymous comment (gotta love those) that my family did not dress appropriately for church. So the remarkable fact that this young man could give a coherent and vibrant 20 minute (mother's child) sermon was completely lost in light of the fact that a patch of his knee skin was showing.

When I say that I want our church to offer authenticity, I'm not saying that we should be formal or informal, traditional or contemporary. What I do mean is that there should be a significant degree of honesty in all of our encounters with one another. We still have respect, we still have confidentiality and privacy, when necessary, but we are not pretending to be happier or holier or more successful or more confident or more penitent or more sober or more anything else than we really are.

Last year in my church a respected professional man, of some wealth and stature in the community, stood up during prayer time and asked us to pray for him as he was leaving the next morning for treatment - he was admitting he was alcoholic. He was an airline pilot, so an admission like this was potentially career ending. (In fact, his employer already knew and supported him throughout the process. After being clean for a number of months, going through a personal and family counseling program and a great deal of re-training, he is flying again.) My point is, this was a moment of great authenticity. He was telling us the truth about his life in that moment and his need for our love, support, and prayer. Events like this are transformative for a church community.

Is authenticity a priority for you? How do you describe authenticity in worship?

I've been told, for example, that if you say a prayer that you've already written out on paper, it's not authentic; it's not "from the heart." Do you agree with that?

What promise would you want to make on behalf of your church?

Praying for the Local Church

Okay, so that was a slightly longer nap than I intended after church. Sunday afternoon naps are a tradition I inherited from my father. Anyway, here are the prayer suggestions from the Church of the Resurrection conference the staff attended last week-end. (The ones I promised in church that I would post after my nap.)

I hope you will join us in praying for these concerns. Bill Hybels (founding pastsor of Willow Creek Community Church) often says "the local church is the hope of the world." I believe that because the local church is where the power of God is formed in people and where people organize to change the world.

Sunday - Passionate Worship

Lord, we pray that churches across the globe would have an awesome encounter of worshiping you in spirit and in truth today (John 4:24).

Monday – Calling Young People into Ministry

Lord, we pray that you would raise up laborers for the harvest (Matthew 9:37-37). And specifically we ask you to raise up young clergy in America and call them into the ministry of the local church.

Tuesday – New Churches

Lord, we pray that You would raise up new churches in America in places where there is no vibrant witness for the gospel right now (Romans 15:20).

Wednesday – Ministry to the Poor

Lord, we pray that you would use the local churches to alleviate poverty, stamp out malaria and HIV/AIDS, and minister to the less fortunate and overlooked in the name of Jesus (Matthew 25:40).

Thursday – Renewed Vitality of the Local Church

Lord, we pray that you would bring renewed vitality to the local church (Ezekiel 37) and that you would daily add to your church through professions of faith (Acts 2:47).

Friday – Unity

Lord, we pray for a healthy unity across the community of churches such that the unbelieving world may see and believe in you (John 17:20-21).

Saturday – The Word

Lord, we pray that as the Word of God is preached in our church and other local churches tomorrow that you would bear fruit that will last forever (Isaiah 55:10-11).