Hits & Misses

Things were very hit & miss during my first summer in Hinsdale, IL.  I met some wonderful people and found a great Chinese restaurant (The Jade Dragon; see picture) within walking distance of the church, but I really had very little to do.  As I mentioned on Wednesday, by the middle of the summer of 2000 I was already talking with other churches about leaving the Union Church of Hinsdale.  I had only been there a few months, yet the situation seemed so different from what I had expected.  But as I explored opportunities in Las Vegas (Marilyn wouldn't even let me interview; she remembered only interviewing in Kissimmee for "the fun of it," and there was no way she was moving to Vegas!) and all over Florida I was still not feeling led to leave.  Even a call from my old pal and fast talker Dr. Tommy Dunbar (now at a new church) didn't feel right.  I felt like God had brought me to Illinois and that I still had work to do.  So I kept working.  It was a summer full of hits & misses.

A perfect example of how up and down things felt was worship at UC.  I really enjoyed the people I worked with on staff, and Dick Nye gave me opportunity to be a part of the preaching schedule.  I had only given the message on Sunday morning once in 6 years in Kissimmee because the general expectation was that the Senior Pastor (John Willis or The Pastor Who Shall Not Be Named) would preach if he was in town.  When he wasn't, we had a wealth of associate pastor types (during my years at FUMC-K this list included Donna Heck, Richard Boss, Rodney Wallace, Cathy Thacker and Tom Nelson) who were gifted and were anxious for opportunities to speak.  Plus we had a tremendous resources in some of the Lay Leaders of that church.  As often occurs, the youth pastor was at the bottom of the list.  At Union Church in the summer of 2000, the staff decided to do a series on King David, from childhood to death.  Each of us- myself, Dick, Mark Toole and Barbara Cathey- were assigned scripture telling sections of the story, so I got to preach once a month.  Plus it was a great collaboration, as each sermon needed to link to the previous week's message as well as to the one to follow.  I loved it.  This was a big hit.

Other things about worship at UC were not as exciting.  The music was beautiful (they had a paid choir member in each section) but extremely traditional.  Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee was practically contemporary.  They had several excellent handbell choirs, and they played often.  OFTEN.  I suggested some more modern hymns and songs on a few occasions in worship planning meetings, but was always met with the "we will not dumb down worship for our congregation" argument.  I still have no idea what that means- except that it meant that Michael Surrat, the church organist and handbell choir director, was not going to let go of music selection.  Especially not for a guitar player.  UC was also a much more "open" church than any I had worked with since my days in New England.  They were seeking to welcome the Gay & Lesbian community, which I applauded.  Jesus came for everyone.  They were also VERY hung up on being gender inclusive in everything they did.  God was not to be referred to as "He."  Lyrics to songs had to be changed to make certain this did not happen.  While this was not an issue I cared about personally, I understood that having God always be male in our imagery can be a problem for those who have had serious issues with males in their personal lives. I just couldn't see how 200 year old song lyrics were suddenly inappropriate.  And I did draw the line when some began to try to make Jesus gender neutral.  He was, after all, a MAN who walked the earth!  These things felt like they were distractions from the goal of reaching others in Jesus' name.  They were misses...

This is what life at UC was like for me.  I enjoyed so many of the people, but their way of doing things- summers off for the student ministry and some of the above issues- kept me from ever feeling at home.  I prayed every day that God would show me how to lift up the name of Jesus among these wealthy folks, and I kept getting a clear answer:  Keep pushing the limits!  And so that is what I did.  Come back tomorrow to learn how.

Jesus- the only hope for me is you...and You alone!