The Word on the Street

It has been awhile since there has been a posting. It is not that I am out of thoughts, just been out of time. It's not that I haven't been reflecting, it's just that we have focused many hours on the Sunday production, "The Word on the Street." With the help of a fantastic drama team, many talented musicians and singers, and the children of Faith, we were able to recreate the story of Joseph and Mary.

It is a story we know very little about. The Bible tells us of angel appearances and dreams and we get a glimpse of their struggles with the message delivered to them and the eventual faith they embraced in the plan set forth. But their courtship we piece together through historical and cultural reconstruction. Their journey together, we assume, was more than a trek on a donkey to Bethlehem. While Mary emerges throughout the story of Jesus and has become a centerpiece in some faith traditions, Joseph seems to disappear. We hear of his seeking out his son Jesus, only to find him in the temple teaching at a young age. Yet other than that we hear nothing else.

Historians have rationalized that he was much older than Mary and most likely died before Jesus came of age. Some Biblical scholarship has explained the de-emphasis of Joseph's role and the emphasis of Mary's role as a way of informing a male dominated culture of the importance of the role of women in God's kingdom. We all can affirm the many theories.

Yet, I find Joseph to be a valuable missing part of the Christmas story. His response of faith gave validity to an unwed, pregnant Mary. His ancestry connected Jesus to a deeper story of Old Testament prophesy. His love delivered Mary and the baby to security in a highly charged political climate and a threatened Herod. Perhaps his story is important today to a number of men who are absent from their children's lives due to demanding jobs and busy schedules. Perhaps his story of faith is and important message today to a number of men who have not made practicing their faith a priority or living that faith example for their children (many men see the faith development as the woman's role). Perhaps his missing part of the story is the missing part of our story.

The Times They Are A Changin'

This morning as I sat at my desk to start hammering away at a long day, I did not have an internet connection. "Oh what disaster," I thought to myself! I have such a long day with so much to do and our church's internet connection is down. I called Doug in a panic and decided that I would have to go home and work or get my laptop and head somewhere with Wifi. Could I survive my day without email, the Itunes store, http://www.desperatepreacher.com/, http://www.revshuby.blogspot.com/, http://www.sermopnspice.com/, http://www.facebook.com/, my connection to news and the markets and sports? Oh the trauma. 5 minutes later, Doug had us back and running.

How sad is that? When I started ministry and sitting in my office at Walnut Grove, the internet was not an option (neither was cable at the parsonage). All I had was the newspaper, telephone, and my books to entertain me all day and you know how I hate reading. But my world changed rapidly on July 1, 2000 when I moved to Champaign. Welcome to the city, a big church, a busy life, a full staff, a lot of technology and oh yeah ...contemporary worship.

Reality, this world has changed rapidly these last ten years perhaps as rapidly as any ten year span in the history of the world. (Check out the book, The World Is Flat, by Thomas Friedman) The way technology has changed our lives, it has changed our economy, changed the way we shop, educate and connect. It has even changed the dinosaur called the church, which is indeed proof that the last decade has been one of radical change.

My friend recently sent me these statistics at the top of this blog. While we hear of the dangers of the internet through the inappropriate material, the misuse of people's time, and the threats of those lurking and preying on the innocent; there is also a way to connect people to one another and provide spiritual resources that were never imagined sitting in my Walnut Grove office on a Saturday night at 10:00PM.

Faith UMC offers a website, an e-mail news, this blog, worship with technology driving behind, and we are constantly seeking ways to just not be cutting edge .... but to connect people to people and connect spirituality to daily life. We hope to offer streaming video of morning worship soon. We have also recently created a group on Facebook called the Faith UMC Community that also will be a resource for further connection and news. My friends, may we know a grace and peace and community that flows through each of us ... even in cyperspace.