Communion Confusion

Youth Ministry is often about being bold and taking chances, and certainly over the years I did my share of both. One of the boldest things I ever did took place at New Garden Friends Meeting on a Youth Sunday in 1982, and I want to tell you the story. But first, a history lesson!

The Society of Friends (Quakers) began in Great Britain in the 1650's as a movement away from the Church of England. George Fox (often called the founder of Quakerism- truth is, he had no intention of founding anything! He, like John Wesley and others, just wanted the Anglican Church to get off its collective butt!) had an astounding revelation one day- that he didn't need all the pomp and traditions of the church to connect to Jesus. He could go straight to the source. His defining statement said that he realized that "there is One- even Christ Jesus- who can speak to my condition." As he began to "walk cheerfully about the world, answering to that of God in everyone" people began to follow him, and eventually the Society of Friends was born. In response to the lifelessness they saw in the established church they went in a radical new direction. All people were to be ministers, because everyone has access to Jesus- which also means that all people are equal. They eschewed many of the traditions of the church, including the sacraments, because in their eyes they had become meaningless rituals administered by corrupt clergy. They came to believe that Christianity is a life you live, not a creed you profess. So to bring you up to speed quickly, they were arrested in large numbers, brought before judges, trembled in the presence of God and got nicknamed Quakers (as an insult at first) because of that, escaped to the new world for religious freedom, were hung in Boston Commons for practicing religious freedom, founded Pennsylvania, made some oatmeal and are still around today, though not in very large numbers (As an aside, there was once a group on Facebook called I Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 Quakers on Facebook. Take that bet! There are not a million Quakers in the world, much less on Facebook. But I digress...). Whew!

Quakers did not just randomly do away with baptism and communion. Today many longtime Friends will tell you that "Quakers don't believe in those things." That would be wrong. The belief is that when Jesus broke the bread and passed the cup in the Upper Room and said "every time you do this, think of Me" the intent was not to establish a ritual, but rather for us to think of Him every time we gather, every time we eat. We should be constantly in communion with Christ. It's called Communion after the manner of Friends, and it is often a period of quiet meditation and prayer. With baptism, John the Baptizer said "I baptize with water, but One comes who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Again, the idea is that the water is an outward symbol of an inward act. It's not about being sprinkled or dunked; it's all about Jesus! This is not to say Quakers have it right. I just wanted you to understand so my story can be more dramatic!

So it's a Youth Sunday in 1982, and I decide to do something outlandish. It seemed to me at the time (and still today, I might add) that NOT having communion like most of the Christian world had become our new ritual. Many Quakers could not explain why we didn't have it. Most thought the idea of passing the bread and the cup was somehow in violation of the creed of George Fox- and there is no creed of George Fox, a fact that has always caused considerable trouble among Friends. But with the support of our pastoral minister David Bills the youth decided to serve communion at New Garden, the last place you would expect it to happen. We explained why we were doing it. We were honoring our Quaker heritage. We were breaking out of a ritual. We were...well it just didn't matter, because many people were not happy about it. I caught lots of flack and even a bit of abuse. But it was sooooo worth it, because it opened a great discussion in the Meeting. And it helped establish one of my primary philosophies of student ministry- that the youth of the church are not just cute teenagers. We shouldn't just be happy that they show up, or that they will stand in front of the church and sing. Youth have something to say, and the church had better listen. I believed it then and I believe it even more today. And every church I served after that got that lecture...

The next time you are taking communion, remember what it means. Remember why you do it. And the next time you aren't "taking" communion in a Friends Meeting, remember why not. Remember that in both cases, it's all about what Jesus has done for us. In my humble opinion, if we do that, we can't be wrong. Even if you serve it to a Quaker youth group at Myrtle Beach and use OJ and Krispy Kreme doughnuts...and yes, I did that too!!!

Because of Jesus,

Remembering Pizza Inn

OK. so before we go any farther here is an apology.  This week has been a wild one.  Will was sick one day, I was sick, and then for unknown reasons I lost the ability to sleep. My Mom came to visit, and Jerry Hanbery joined us last night to see Will march at the football game. This morning (again, for reasons unknown) my right knee is twice the size of my left knee.  Anyway, the apology is because I have not written much this week and new posts have been in short supply.  The good news that means I get to share a few a my favorite vintage posts.  Like this one...

When chronicling the history of my time at Springfield Friends Meeting, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the impact of Pizza Inn.  I am aware that every youth ministry is impacted by pizza is some way.  I know that food is an important part of most every ministry.  Why do you think churches love potluck dinners so much?  In some ways our attraction to Pizza Inn was not unique.  In some ways, however, it was an amazing part of our success.

The Pizza Inn located in High Point was only about a mile from Springfield (as the crow flies!) and so it was convenient.  They had a wonderful lunch buffet at a reasonable price. The words "all-you-can-eat" are always good to hear when feeding teenagers!  We would go, eat salad, pizza, pasta, dessert pizza and bread sticks. And we would drink sweet tea.  The sweetest sweet tea you have ever tasted.  And we would drink it by the gallon!  In the beginning it was just something we did every now and then as a group for Sunday lunch, and we called it Pizza Break.  Eventually it became the place where groups of us would eat most every Sunday.  During school breaks and summers I would often eat there 4 or 5 days a week, usually with a different person or group each time.  It was such a safe place for all of us.  Some days we would laugh so loudly that we expected to be thrown out.  Some days my lunch partner would share deep pain or hurt, and tears would be shed.  Some days we would just bask in the glow of spending time with people we loved.  In the truest sense of the word, Pizza Inn became the place where we would have Communion. We would pray around the table; we would break bread together; and we would share our lives.  Most of the time is was not "religious," but every time it was special.  When students would go away to college, they would come home and call and want to go to the Inn.  The managers and wait staff knew us and loved us.  It was truly a second home for our student ministry.

Although I shared this experience with many students over the years, when I think of Pizza Inn my mind first jumps to Ken Hill, Todd Farlow, Danny McCorquodale and Jamie Robinson.  We ate there together so many times over so many years, sometimes staying for hours.  I cannot even imagine how much tea we drank or how much pizza we ate.  I do know this- we could all walk into to Pizza Inn today and it would be just like no time had passed at all.  Communion is like that.  It is never ending, not just a sacrament to be shared on special occasions.  It is unfailing.  Because Jesus is the same today, yesterday and forever!  Just like the Pizza Inn buffet...

EDITOR'S NOTE:  I hear our Pizza Inn has been remodeled and that the fake fireplace is gone and the buffet is even bigger.  I look forward to going back someday.  And Jeremy Godwin and I plan to do some serious damage!  :)

Because of Jesus,

Communion Chaos!

Youth Ministry is often about being bold and taking chances, and certainly over the years I did my share of both. One of the boldest things I ever did took place at New Garden Friends Meeting on a Youth Sunday in 1982, and I want to tell you the story. But first, a history lesson!

The Society of Friends (Quakers) began in Great Britain in the 1650's as a movement away from the Church of England. George Fox (often called the founder of Quakerism- truth is, he had no intention of founding anything! He, like John Wesley and others, just wanted the Anglican Church to get off its collective butt!) had an astounding revelation one day- that he didn't need all the pomp and traditions of the church to connect to Jesus. He could go straight to the source. His defining statement said that he realized that "there is One- even Christ Jesus- who can speak to my condition." As he began to "walk cheerfully about the world, answering to that of God in everyone" people began to follow him, and eventually the Society of Friends was born. In response to the lifelessness they saw in the established church, they went in a radical new direction. All people were to be ministers, because everyone has access to Jesus- which also means that all people are equal. They eschewed many of the traditions of the church, including the sacraments, because in their eyes they had become meaningless rituals administered by corrupt clergy. They came to believe that Christianity is a life you live, not a creed you profess. So to bring you up to speed quickly, they were arrested in large numbers, brought before judges, trembled in the presence of God and got nicknamed Quakers (as an insult at first) because of that, escaped to the new world for religious freedom, were hung in Boston Commons for practicing religious freedom, founded Pennsylvania, made some oatmeal and are still around today, though not in very large numbers (As an aside, there was once a group on Facebook called I Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 Quakers on Facebook. Take that bet! There are not a million Quakers in the world, much less on Facebook. But I digress...). Whew!

Quakers did not just randomly do away with baptism and communion. Today many longtime Friends will tell you that "Quakers don't believe in those things." That would be wrong. The belief is that when Jesus broke the bread and passed the cup in the Upper Room and said "every time you do this, think of Me" the intent was not to establish a ritual, but rather for us to think of Him every time we gather, every time we eat. We should be constantly in communion with Christ. It's called Communion after the manner of Friends, and it is often a period of quiet meditation and prayer. With baptism, John the Baptizer said "I baptize with water, but One comes who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Again, the idea is that the water is an outward symbol of an inward act. It's not about being sprinkled or dunked; it's all about Jesus! This is not to say Quakers have it right. I just wanted you to understand so my story can be more dramatic!

So it's a Youth Sunday in 1983, and I decide to do something outlandish. It seemed to me at the time (and still today, I might add) that NOT having communion like most of the Christian world had become our new ritual. Most could not explain why we didn't have it. Most thought the idea of passing the bread and the cup was somehow in violation of the creed of George Fox- and there is no creed of George Fox, a fact that has always caused considerable trouble among Friends. But with the support of our pastoral minister David Bills the youth decided to serve communion at New Garden, the last place you would expect it to happen. We explained why we were doing it. We were honoring our Quaker heritage. We were breaking out of a ritual. We were...well it just didn't matter, because many people were not happy about it. I caught lots of flack and even a bit of abuse. But it was sooooo worth it, because it opened a great discussion in the Meeting. And it helped establish one of my primary philosophies of student ministry- that the youth of the church are not just cute teenagers. We shouldn't just be happy that they show up, or that they will stand in front of the church and sing. Youth have something to say, and the church had better listen. I believed it then, and I believe it even more today. And every church I served after that got that lecture...

The next time you are taking communion, remember what it means. Remember why you do it. And the next time you aren't "taking" communion in a Friends Meeting, remember why not. Remember that in both cases, it's all about what Jesus has done for us. In my humble opinion, if we do that, we can't be wrong. Even if you serve it to a Quaker youth group at Myrtle Beach and use OJ and Krispy Kreme doughnuts...and yes, I did that too!!!

Because of Jesus,

A Moment With Mullins

Some of you are aware of my history with the sacrament of communion.  I have shared how growing up in the Society of Friends (Quakers) gave me a unique perspective on the importance of remembering the sacrifice of Christ as part of daily life, not just as a symbolic ritual (to read more, see Communion Confusion).  In that same post I told the story of serving communion at New Garden Friends Meeting- something that had never been done before.  I shared the story of serving communion to the youth of Springfield Friends Meeting at a beach retreat, using Krispy Kreme doughnuts and orange juice.  I compared lunch at Pizza Inn to communion.  I have led and served Holy Communion at Methodist churches.  I have experienced tremendous power in the taking of the communion elements; I have also gone through the motions on many occasions.  In high school I attended Easter Mass at Myrtle Beach with my friend Steve Furr and witnessed the sharing of the Eucharist with 2000 Catholics.  And on Easter Sunday 2007 I served the Lord's Supper using stale rolls and frozen apple juice in a place where all present were struggling to keep from losing all hope- including myself.  It is safe to say that I think about practicing the presence of Christ- and that is what communion truly is- each and every day.

The late Rich Mullins and I shared this unique perspective, because he too grew up among Quakers.  Like myself, Rich loved the sacrament, and found great power in the symbolism of the bread and the juice.  But also like me, Rich understood that symbolism is not necessary in order to commune with God.  Every meal, every moment of solitude, every moment of praise can be spent in communion.  Remembering Jesus should not require the bread and the cup; it should be an everyday experience.   Our lives should be lived "in remembrance" of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us.  And yet the the symbolism of the sacrament should not be lost on us.  It is an invitation to the family of God to sit together at the feet of the Savior.  Rich wrote today's featured song to express those beliefs.  He wanted the world to know that the "Peace of Christ" is always available, and that we are all invited to join the feast.  No matter the setting, no matter the moment, the love of Christ is available to us.  And we are to share that love.  In Rich's words,

Though we're strangers, still I love you

I love you more than your mask

And you know you have to trust this to be true

And I know that's much to ask

But lay down your fears, come and join this feast

He has called us here, you and me

So take this moment to hear the beauty of Peace (A Communion Blessing) and come into the presence of the Christ.  Experience His love.  Accept His invitation and come join the feast, wherever you may be.  "Peace of Christ to you..."

Unwilling Catholics

Quakers and Catholics share much in common in their faith in Jesus Christ, but almost nothing in common in their practice of that faith.  Catholic worship is made up of pomp, circumstance and ritual; Quaker worship is simple and sometimes silent.  A Quaker who walks into the celebration of Mass unaware is in for quite a shock.  Witness the following account...

On the Sunday morning following the Luau, we were headed back to Disney's Polynesian Resort for worship.  WDW sponsored two worship services each Sunday at the same venue where we had been for the Luau; an early Catholic Mass, and an 11 AM Protestant service.  I had told the group to get breakfast and meet us at the Polynesian.  They were all very clear on how to get there- take the bus to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) and the monorail to the Polynesian.  I was with a group that headed over around 10:15 AM.  We arrived a few minutes early and had to wait outside for the Catholics to exit.  As we were standing there, I saw a very unexpected sight.  Two of our guys, David Mercadante (pictured in the red sweatshirt) and Will Rees (in the tye-dye), were exiting the Mass- and looking exceedingly confused!  I stopped them and asked what was going on, and they informed me they had just been to church and could not find us anywhere.  Plus, they told me, the service had been really strange, with a lot of standing and kneeling and reciting things they did not know.  We were dying laughing.  They had no idea what they had just done.  They were then very disappointed to learn they had to go back in and worship again-  with the rest of us.  They were still mumbling about all the odd stuff they did at the first service, but they had to admit they had enjoyed getting a snack during church.  It seems our two young Quakers had just taken their first communion with the Catholics.  We never informed the Pope of their transgression!  We don't know how this may have influenced David's calling to the pastoral ministry among Quakers, but that is what he is doing today.

After church, we headed for our first park- the Magic Kingdom!  Something new awaited us there that would be one of the highlights of the trip.  Come back tomorrow to read more!

Because of Jesus,

Let It Snow!

We are currently freezing here in Tampa, so it seemed like a good time to take a look back at this retreat...

In January, 1992, the Springfield Friends Meeting youth went on a retreat to Cherry Grove, SC (located just north of North Myrtle Beach).  We rented a house and had a great weekend, but there are three things I really remember about that trip.  Here they are:

*  Our program for the weekend was talking about our spiritual journeys, and included things like each student doing a written spiritual history.  As part of this exploration, one morning I served Communion (which is not usually practiced among Quakers.  For more on this read Communion Confusion.) using orange juice and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  It was very cool and quite meaningful.  It really served to remind us all about the sacrifice of Christ.  It's also part of the reason I continue to believe that hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the modern version of manna from Heaven!

*  That particular group of kids (well, the girls anyway) were obsessed with the movie Grease.  We could all tolerate Grease, and at times even enjoy it.  But on that weekend someone brought Grease 2 and made us watch it. I wanted to gouge my eyes out.  Worst sequel ever!!!  Our greatest Grease moments would come in 1993 at The Beaches and Cream Soda Shoppe at WDW, but that is a story for another day!

*  I very rarely lose my temper, but it does aggravate me when people are rude to others.  Late one night while on that retreat suddenly my sleep was interrupted by lights coming on and people talking and yelling and youth running around the house.  I came out of my room screaming for them to get back to bed, issuing all kinds of threats and scaring them half to death.  When I finally got around to asking what was going on, Ashley Goad meekly told me "It's snowing, Carl."  It was snowing at Myrtle Beach!  Now I was the one running around, looking out the windows, checking the beach, beside myself with excitement.  I apologized to everyone and we all stayed up a while, watching it snow.  The pictures posted here are of the infamous Springfield blue van and the beach at Cherry Grove, both from the next morning.  It's still the only time I have ever seen it snow at the beach!

We had lots of great moments on trips from Springfield.  For the next few days I want to tell you about our second Walt Disney World trip, taken in 1990.  We lost Jeff Byrd, we lost Jill Gilbreth and we lost keys-  and all of that was before we ever made it to WDW!  Later we lost Dana Oxendine, had a room robbed and discovered the best Root Beer floats ever!  It was quite a trip.  Come back to hear those stories all this week!

Because of Jesus,

The Ministry of Pizza Inn

When chronicling the history of my time at Springfield Friends Meeting, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the impact of Pizza Inn.  I am aware that every youth ministry is impacted by pizza is some way.  I know that food is an important part of most every ministry.  Why do you think churches love potluck dinners so much?  In some ways our attraction to Pizza Inn was not unique.  In some ways, however, it was an amazing part of our success.

The Pizza Inn located in High Point was only about a mile from Springfield (as the crow flies!) and so it was convenient.  They had a wonderful lunch buffet at a reasonable price. The words "all-you-can-eat" are always good to hear when feeding teenagers!  We would go, eat salad, pizza, pasta, dessert pizza and bread sticks. And we would drink sweet tea.  The sweetest sweet tea you have ever tasted.  And we would drink it by the gallon!  In the beginning it was just something we did every now and then as a group for Sunday lunch, and we called it Pizza Break.  Eventually it became the place where groups of us would eat most every Sunday.  During school breaks and summers I would often eat there 4 or 5 days a week, usually with a different person or group each time.  It was such a safe place for all of us.  Some days we would laugh so loudly that we expected to be thrown out.  Some days my lunch partner would share deep pain or hurt, and tears would be shed.  Some days we would just bask in the glow of spending time with people we loved.  In the truest sense of the word, Pizza Inn became the place where we would have Communion. We would pray around the table; we would break bread together; and we would share our lives.  When students would go away to college, they would come home and call and want to go to the Inn.  The managers and wait staff knew us and loved us.  It was truly a second home for our student ministry.

Although I shared this experience with many students over the years, when I think of Pizza Inn my mind first jumps to Ken Hill, Todd Farlow, Danny McCorquodale and Jamie Robinson.  We ate there together so many times over so many years, sometimes staying for hours.  I cannot even imagine how much tea we drank or how much pizza we ate.  I do know this- we could all walk into to Pizza Inn today and it would be just like no time had passed at all.  Communion is like that.  It is never ending, not just a sacrament to be shared on special occasions.  It is unfailing.  Because Jesus is the same today, yesterday and forever!  Just like the Pizza Inn buffet...

Because of Jesus,

Communion Confusion

Youth Ministry is often about being bold and taking chances, and certainly over the years I did my share of both. One of the boldest things I ever did took place at New Garden Friends Meeting on a Youth Sunday in 1983, and I want to tell you the story. But first, a history lesson!

The Society of Friends (Quakers) began in Great Britain in the 1650's as a movement away from the Church of England. George Fox (often called the founder of Quakerism- truth is, he had no intention of founding anything! He, like John Wesley and others, just wanted the Anglican Church to get off its collective butt!) had an astounding revelation one day- that he didn't need all the pomp and traditions of the church to connect to Jesus. He could go straight to the source. His defining statement said that he realized that "there is One- even Christ Jesus- who can speak to my condition." As he began to "walk cheerfully about the world, answering to that of God in everyone" people began to follow him, and eventually the Society of Friends was born. In response to the lifelessness they saw in the established church, they went in a radical new direction. All people were to be ministers, because everyone has access to Jesus, which also means that all people are equal. They eschewed many of the traditions of the church, including the sacraments, because in their eyes they had become meaningless rituals. They came to believe that Christianity is a life you live, not a creed you profess. So to bring you up to speed quickly, they were arrested in large numbers, brought before judges, trembled in the presence of God and got nicknamed Quakers (as an insult at first) because of that, escaped to the new world for religious freedom, were hung in Boston Commons for practicing religious freedom, founded Pennsylvania, made some oatmeal and are still around today, though not in very large numbers (As an aside, Marilyn recently joined a group on Facebook called I Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 Quakers on Facebook. Take that bet! There are not a million Quakers in the world, much less on Facebook. But I digress...). Whew!

Quakers did not just randomly do away with baptism and communion. Today many longtime Friends will tell you that "Quakers don't believe in those things." That would be wrong. The belief is that when Jesus broke the bread and passed the cup in the Upper Room and said "every time you do this, think of Me" the intent was not to establish a ritual, but rather for us to think of Him every time we gather, every time we eat. We should be constantly in communion with Christ. It's called Communion after the manner of Friends, and it is often a period of quiet meditation and prayer. With baptism, John the Baptizer said "I baptize with water, but One comes who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Again, the idea is that the water is an outward symbol of an inward act. It's not about being sprinkled or dunked; it's all about Jesus! This is not to say Quakers have it right. I just wanted you to understand so my story can be more dramatic!

So it's a Youth Sunday in 1983, and I decide to do something outlandish. It seemed to me at the time (and still today, I might add) that NOT having communion like most of the Christian world had become our new ritual. Most could not explain why we didn't have it. Most thought the idea of passing the bread and the cup was somehow in violation of the law of George Fox- and there is no law of George Fox, a fact that has always caused considerable trouble among Friends. But with the support of our pastoral minister David Bills (an Influences post about David is coming later this week) the youth decided to serve communion at New Garden, the last place you would expect it to happen. We explained why we were doing it. We were honoring our Quaker heritage. We were breaking out of a ritual. We were...well it just didn't matter, because many people were not happy about it. I caught lots of flack and even a bit of abuse. But it was sooooo worth it, because it opened a great discussion in the Meeting. And it helped establish one of my primary philosophies of student ministry- that the youth of the church are not just cute teenagers. We shouldn't just be happy that they show up, or that they will stand in front of the church and sing. Youth have something to say, and the church had better listen. I believed it then, and I believe it even more today. And every church I have served since has gotten that lecture...

The next time you are taking communion, remember what it means. Remember why you do it. And the next time you aren't "taking" communion in a Friends Meeting, remember why not. Remember that in both cases, it's all about what Jesus has done for us. In my humble opinion, if we do that, we can't be wrong. Even if you serve it to a Quaker youth group at Myrtle Beach and use OJ and Krispy Kreme doughnuts...but that is a story for another day!

Because of Jesus,