The Beautiful Heresy- Christian Universalism

Am I a heretic? Maybe. If believing that God is all powerful, all loving, wiser than His creation and perfectly willing and capable of saving all of His children makes me a heretic, sign me up.


Sarah Who?  

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Why Sarah Palin Scares MeImage by Jon Person via Flickr

Someone made the mistake of saying they were curious to hear my thoughts on McCain's VP pick. So, here you go.

Let me begin by saying I know nothing about Sarah Palin that I didn't learn in the last 22 hours. And, I mean that literally. I had never heard her name until yesterday. So, I was stunned by the pick. McCain had a plethora of qualified men to choose from. But, let's say he wanted to go with a woman. Why not Carly Fiorina or Kay Bailey Hutchinson?

This pick seemed right out of left field. My research uncovered the following. Her name was tossed around for consideration earlier in the process but once she had her baby (just 4 months ago) and that baby is a special needs baby, I guess most people had written her off as a serious contender for the VP nomination. Here's what a quick fact check I did yesterday turned up. She's young (younger than Obama). She has had zero experience at national politics. She's been governor of the state with the 48th ranking in population in the union for less than two years. She has a journalism degree. The professors at her college don't seem to remember her. She seems to be even more right than Bush and McCain put together. She sued the federal government over the endangered status of polars bears (and not to protect the bears). She's more tied in with big oil than Bush. She's been called George Bush in a skirt. She's "pro-life" (read anti-choice). I read that she's been called a "maverick" and she says she opposed the bridge to nowhere. But, there have been some questions raised about that.

The choice had me mystified. So, after reading the sources I thought would be non-biased, I flipped over to see what the Republicans were saying. I guess the move is supposed to shore up the base that McCain hasn't been able to reach. By having someone so staunchly anti-choice, the Evangelicals are thrilled. They're hoping her blue collar background will play well in the swing states. And, I guess they think some of Hillary's PUMAS will vote for McCain simply because he put a woman on the ticket.

Now, my opinion. It seems to me this is simply blatant pandering by McCain and possibly an attempt to show he's a maverick. A couple of my more right-leaning friends have said they are thrilled with the choice and one of the reasons is the GOP didn't shove their choice down McCain's throat. So, there you go. But, to me, this choice is more insulting to women than it is "historic". Historic would have been to pick the most qualified person. That is a woman, if a woman is more qualified, not to skip over all the more qualified candidates to reach down to choose a woman. To assume that Hillary supporters will vote for this anti-choice candidate just because she wears makeup and a skirt is the ultimate insult to women, IMO. It doesn't show that McCain respects women, it shows that he's trying to manipulate them. McCain has talked about how Obama doesn't have the experience to lead. But, then this 72 year old cancer survivor asks us to elect him to the White House and put a 44 year old hockey mom with a 5 month old baby one heartbeat from the presidency? And, what kind of a "family oriented" mom would accept the position with her infant child at home?

This choice is scary to me for a number of reasons. And, if it wins McCain votes, it'll be from those one-issue "values" voters. Overall, Sarah Palin's story would make a great movie script. But, I don't see what in her resume qualifies her to be the Vice President of the United States, particularly since just a short time ago she said she didn't know what the job entails.

As my friend Jimmy would say "Lord have mercy".

Peace,
Brian

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Democratic National Convention- Score! (and the best line)  

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NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 04: Volunteers for and su...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Will the Democrats finally get it right this election cycle? If the Democratic National Convention is any indication, I'm allowing myself (just a little) to think that this time they will not snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

The convention could have hardly gone any better. From the truly inspirational speeches by Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden to the (risky) open air performance at Mile High Stadium (I refuse to call it Invesco Field) to Barack's "meaty" and pointed accepted speech last night, they showed they just may have figured some things out.

I wrote a post a few days ago complaining about politics as usual and I stand by that. I wish we didn't have that. But, I also wish we didn't have to have a national defense. Just wishing that were the case doesn't make it so. Obama knows that if he just keeps sitting back playing defense, McCain will keep throwing unanswered punches. Last night, Obama showed that, for the good of the country, he will throw back.

I think his speech was a brilliant mixture of the hope and rhetoric that has attracted his rapid, maniacal supporters, a detailed outline of his plan for policy and a very controlled condemnation of the current administration and John McCain's undeniable ties to it and insistence on continuing with its worst policies. He gave a nod to Martin Luther King's "We Have a Dream Speech", but he did not allow himself to be framed as the "black candidate". He packed a lot in to a short speech and did it brilliantly and with respect for John McCain's service, patriotism and sincere desire to do what is best for the country.

There was so much good in the speech that it's hard to pick out one thing. But, as I listened to the analysis last night the pundits seemed to look over what I thought was the most powerful counter to the Celebrity/Messiah thing:

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.

And you know what it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington. But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's
been about you.

For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown
what history teaches us that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

This is something Obama needs to repeat over and over again. "It's not about me. It's about you." Obama is the people's champion. Our surrogate. He is the guy we chose to take on the establishment.

Surely, the comparisons others made to Lincoln will be criticized. But, the parallels are there. They are facts. Undeniable, indisputable facts. They have about the same amount of experience in the same situations, are both truly inspirational speakers and seem to have the same heart when it comes to uniting America across the lines that divide us. Chew on that Grand Oil Party!

The Republican attack machine will surely spin the grandeur of the speech into an all sizzle no steak thing. But, they run a risk with this, IMO- insulting the thousand and millions of Obama supporters as being easy dupes. You've got to ask yourself why a Junior Senator we had never heard of four years ago can fill a football stadium with over 80,000 people and a Senior Senator, war hero with so many decades of service is struggling to attract 10,000 people to his announcement today in Dayton. Could it be because one is offering hope while the other is offering security (IOW- selling fear)?

The other days someone said people vote a candidate like them, only smarter. I couldn't agree more and I see myself in Barack Obama (not that I am any Barack Obama). He's idealistic. He believes in the best in humanity. He wants to see a level playing field for everyone and thinks government's role is to protect those who cannot protect themselves while allow market forces to do what market forces do best. He thinks we should negotiate first but use force when necessary. He's about to show that to Senator McCain. You wanna play rough? C'mon. I think he's smart, sincere and tough and I hope he continues to show that over the next couple of months.

I think the Democrats did a great job of framing what this election will be about. The choice this year will be very clear and that is a good thing. For the next 66 days, I'll be praying America chooses wisely. I know where my vote is going.

Peace,
Brian

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Nexus Search Committee Update  

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Comparison of Christological positionsImage via Wikipedia

This is a fine line to walk. We have to maintain confidentiality about the identity of the candidates in the search process. But, we all agreed that we want to disclose as much as possible about what is going on to the full church. So, with that in mind, I want to update you on what has happened over the last couple of weeks.

Last week we narrowed the candidates down to two. A man and a woman. We scheduled a conference call with each of them. The calls took place last night. After reviewing their profiles, we were very excited about both candidates and were looking forward to the conversations to learn a little more about them. We got some great profiles. We set a time limit of 30 minutes with each of them to be fair to them and to fit into our schedules. Kind of like the Rick Warren thing, we asked each of them the same core questions (with some tailoring for each on other questions). We allotted 15 minutes for us to "grill" them and 15 minutes for them to turn the tables on us.

I should say that both candidates are wonderful people and will make great pastors somewhere. However, as I think I said here earlier, we view the search process as more of a search for a mate than a search for an employee. And, not every "qualified" person can be your spouse. It's important that we "get" each other. It's important that we share values and a vision. The other things can be worked out. One candidate seemed like a really good fit while the other was not a fit.

The conversations were different in tone. Both were enjoyable. But, contrasted against each other, it became clear which candidate was the better fit. With one candidate, it was very "conversational". S/he answered our questions in depth without being too verbose, was eager to share and really seemed to "get" Nexus. The answer to the question "Why did you choose the ministry as a second career?" was both unexpected and original. When we asked a question like "How would you grow membership at Nexus?" rather than spouting off a pat answer like s/he knows everything, this person began asking us questions about us and what we are doing now. That was an impressive sign of maturity. This person seems genuinely enthused about Nexus. When it was time for him/her to ask his/her questions, there was only one. I don't recall the exact wording. But, it was something along the lines of "What does it mean to follow Jesus?" When we asked for clarification, he asked what excites us about following Jesus. No business stuff. No question they teach you in interviewing school. This was a question about ministry and discipleship (what you'd hope to get from a minister). We went around the table and answered the question individually. It is obvious this person doesn't consider ministry a "job" or our talk an "interview". S/he is looking for a place to be in community with other believers doing ministry. Refreshing!

The other conversation was more guarded. The answers to our questions were just not resonating with us as much and when the time came to ask us questions, the questions were more about the nuts and bolts of Nexus and about our history more than where are going and our vision. Again, nothing wrong with the questions. They were all legitimate questions that a wise person would want to know the answers to. But, in contrast with the other candidate, our choice was clear.

At this point, we are down to only one candidate under consideration. All candidates have been informed of our decision. Of course, we do not know how things will work out with our finalist. But, if it does not work out, we will have to review additional profiles. The committee is committed to not "settling". Once we have eliminated a candidate from consideration, we will not go back and choose that person just because no one better has come along. We think that's what the people of Nexus would want and what we need.

Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we undertake this momentous task in the history of Nexus.

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The Lord's Prayer- Like You've Never Heard It  

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A 6th century mosaic of :en:Jesus at Church Sa...Image via Wikipedia

This morning we were discussing why it is that G-d seems so distant to many of us.  One of the quotes that popped up on my "Quote of the Day" was:

They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse.
  - Emily Dickinson

One of the guys on the list asked why is we think of G-d that way and what immediately popped into my mind was the opening line of the Lord's Prayer: 
Our Father who are in Heaven
In heaven... out there somewhere, not here.  This is the G-d I was taught and the way I was taught the Lord's Prayer.  But, Marcus Borg rewrote "The Prayer of Jesus", as he calls it for the study guide to The Heart of Christianity (one of my all time favorite books that I cannot recommend highly enough). 
Marcus wrote it this way:
Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-Bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be.
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by all peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.

Amen.

Now that is a prayer I can relate to. But, I was blown away even more by these two links to the Lord's prayer translated from the Aramaic that Yehsua spoke.  Of course, we cannot know His exact words since there wasn't a stenographer present.  But, any of these versions just make the King James seem flat and dead, IMO. 




There's more! 
This page has several translations. Take a few minutes to soak them in.

The Lord's Prayer from the Aramaic

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Politics As Usual  

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Modderbad à troisImage by Garrulus via Flickr

Once again, the charge of naivete against me has stuck.  When I saw that John McCain was going to get the nomination from the Republicans, I hoped and believed that, if Barack Obama got the nod from the Dems we'd see a historic campaign.  One in which no mud-slinging would take place, just two gentlemen duking it out on the merits.  Boy was I wrong!


IMO, McCain went low first and is continuing to go low often.  Not only with low blows but with silliness like the celebrity ads.  Then, we have the absolute falseness of the Rezko and the Weather Underground ads.  And, the simply mean-spirited "Why didn't he pick Hillary ad?"  What have any of these to do with Obama's ability to lead?  So, John, you're going to rein in the 527 organizations?  I don't think so.  You're approving all these messages yourself and appealing to "humor" as an excuse for the celebrity ads. 


Obama has been only a little better. But, here's the way I see it.  Unfortunately, negative ads work.  It's been proven time and time again.  We say we don't like them, but somebody falls for them.  If Obama does not respond in kind, many will perceive him as "weak" and nobody (not even us so called liberal pinko commies) want a weak president.  So, Obama must hit back.  So far, I think he's stayed above McCain still at least trying to send out a positive message. But, if McCain continues to gain in the polls, you can bet your last dollar that will change.  When McCain made the quip about $5 million makes you rich at Saddleback, he immediately knew he had made a mistake.  Can't have a sense of humor in this campaign.  I hoped and hoped Obama and his staff would leave this one alone. Come on, show me you're not just like the other guy.  But, no.  Obama took the bait and has continued to say that John McCain thinks anyone not making $5M a year is not rich. Barack, couldn't you just be human and admit that this was a joke?
Nope, we are not seeing a new type of campaign.  It may be slightly better than ones in the past (so far).  But I predict, by the end, we'll see Obama right down there in the mud with the Republican attack machine.  And that saddens me deeply.  I didn't think we'd ever see a serious Black candidate for President in my lifetime.  I was wrong about that.  Now, I don't think we'll see a campaign that speaks to your own merits, not the (contrived) weaknesses of your opponent.  Could I be wrong about that, too?  I really don't think so.  We (the American people) get what works and dirty campaigning works on us.
Peace,
Brian



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Six Random Things About Me  

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Kansas Bob tagged me for one of those "meme" things.  I'm supposed to post six random things about me.  This was tougher than it sounds.  Here are my six:

  1. I only moved once during the time I was in elementary, junior and high school but I attended 7 different schools. I literally have no contact with anyone I went to elementary, junior high, high school or college with even though I only live 100 miles from my home town.
  2. I started doing laundry, cooking and cleaning when I was about 10 years old. I did 90% of the cooking for the first six years of our marriage.
  3. Being named Brian Smith, it was important to me to give my kids names that were not so common. When we named Kayla, neither my wife nor I had ever heard the name (we chose it from a book). Now, 11 years later, we cannot go anywhere without running into an eleven year old named Kayla. We have no idea how this happened.
  4. My favorite color is purple.
  5. I used to want to be a rock star. Now, my dream job is pro golfer.
  6. I hate these meme things. ;-)
Oh wait.  I just threw in number six because I couldn't think of another thing.  Here's my real #6

My great, great, great, great, great grandparents were both slave and master. I am a descendant of Thomas Jefferson. It was a weird feeling visiting Monticello last year and looking the slave quarters and the "big house" and knowing my ancestors lived in both, at the same time.

I Love the Olympics  

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I don't just like the Olympics, I absolutely love the Olympics.  I love everything about the Olympics.  From the earliest one I remember (the tragic 1972) Olympics, I've been hooked.  I remember when I first saw the Olympics thinking "Why don't we do this every year?" (or every month for that matter.

From the opening ceremony last Friday (which I sat glued to the entire four hours it was on) to the closing ceremony next weekend, I have watched and will watch the Olympics just about every possible waking moment.  I watch the "behind the scenes" stories on the athletes.  Yesterday I couldn't watch a lot of the day (but I recorded it from 10AM to 6PM and scanned the whole thing).  So, as I was scanning through, I stopped on the stories.  Wow.  Did you catch the one on the Chinese ping pong player who met the American 19 year old hippy who got on the wrong bus and actually led to the whole Nixon-China visit?  Amazing how a kid like that could literally change history.   I could go on and on. Each one fascinates me.

I loved the pageantry of the opening ceremony.  The drummers were powerful, in perfect and amazing. The painting that was created throughout the ceremony was awe-inspiring.  And, the synchronicity of the people emulating the Chinese printing press was just mind-blowing.  Mr. Engineer here was sitting telling the family how amazing the computer program that was controlling that must have been.  Then, they blew my mind when they showed the blocks were actually being controlled by human beings. The precision just floored me.

I love the way the athletes respect and even cheer for each other and how the crowd appreciates a tremendous effort no matter what country the athlete is from. When Michael Phelps won his 8th medal last night, I watched as swimmers from other teams congratulated him.

My favorite stories of the game so far are, the obvious Michael Phelps.  I mean what is there to say? I'm so happy for him and I hope that he uses his fame well.  Yesterday,  I did cheat on the Olympics a little and during the women's marathon flipped to watch Obama and McCain.  But, the Romanian woman who took the lead early and held on until the end was way cool.  Then, last night I watched the 100m race.  Usain Bolt from Jamaica, ran the most amazing 100m race I've ever seen.  It wasn't his world record that was amazing.  It wasn't the way he ran away from the field that was amazing.  It was that he shut it down about 15m short of the line and could have run faster and blown the field away by even more.  I've never seen a performance like it in the 100m.

As much as I love the Olympics, I'll be glad when they're over.  When I'm away from the house, I wonder what I'm missing.  When I'm working (as I have to do now), I want to be in front of the TV.  Netflix wasn't shipping movies last week?  Who cares?  I haven't watched any of the three I've had since the opening ceremonies and won't until they extinguish the flame.  The earliest I've even thought about going to bed in the last 8 days has been 11:30.  Friday night I discovered I could literally watch until 9AM on Saturday, take a break for an hour and begin watching the USA basketball game at 10AM.  Dangerous stuff for a Olympics-aholic like me.

OK. I took this time to write the article because the bicycle pursuit is on (guess they're giving us die-hards a bit of a break).  I'll watch just about anything.  Watched a little sculling yesterday, some badminton, gymnasts on trampolines (are they nuts!?) oh and did you catch our water polo team being Croatia?  I've got to some shipping labels. Then, it's time to take up my position on the couch until about 12:30 or 1:00 tomorrow morning.

Peace,
Brian



Warren/Obama/McCain  

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OK.  I gotta admit, I am no Rick Warren fan.  I read The Purpose Driven Life (mostly- as much as I could stomach of it).  It was an OK book and I can see how some people would really like it.  But, I have to say I don't like the Purpose Driven Empire.  It's too much like the Left Behind empire.  And, I was not happy about McCain and Obama's first appearance "together" being a "I'm a better Christian than you face off." Personal feelings aside, I could not miss the opportunity to watch the discussion last night and it turned out to be much better than I thought.
Rick Warren asked the tough questions that people want to know the answers to and I think both Obama and McCain stepped up to the plate and did not do the usual politician thing of answering every question except the one asked.  I hate that and I think both candidates knew the American public (the evangelical public) was not going for that last night.  Both gave frank and honest answers.  I salute them for that.  I also think the format was brilliant. Giving both men the same questions and not allowing one to hear the other's answer gave us a real opportunity to compare and contrast them.
Specific answers aside, some things jumped out at me.  Barack Obama is a much more nuanced man than John McCain.  He does not see things in terms of black or white but in shades of gray.  He cannot give a "straight answer" on most issues not because he's playing politician but because he truly sees both sides of most issues and realizes that good people have honest differences.  Even when it comes to the question of "evil", while he acknowledged that evil exists and must be confronted, he gave very different examples of evil than John McCain did.  And, McCain doesn't want to confront "evil", he wants to destroy it.  Obama took several sentences or paragraphs to answer just about every question and would sit and ponder before giving his answer.  McCain would snap out a "yes", "no" or "let's get 'em" almost before Rick Warrren got the question out of his mouth.  I saw a very different worldview from each man last night and it's good for people to understand our choices in that sense. 
I have to say one thing that bugged me about McCain was all the stories about Viet Nam.  My understanding is most Vets are reluctant to talk publicly (or even privately) about their time in Viet Nam and I had heard this was true of McCain.  As he kept up the stories last night, I wanted to scream at the TV "What have you been doing for the last 40 years?"  While I admire, respect and am grateful to any man or woman who voluntarily serves our country, I got the impression McCain was really playing up his service last night and that I did not like.  It's the only thing negative I have to say about the performance by any of the three men.  Overall, I think they did a great job and I wonder if that format will be utilized in the future because I think it worked brilliantly.

Why We Need Churches Like Nexus  

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I go back and forth on the whole church thing.  Is it worth it?  Why am I doing it?  Then, I get a reminder of why we need churches like Nexus.  This is a real email from a pastor:

Darlene, I'm glad I ran across your blog. I still miss you. I am sorry
to hear that your lover died of breast-cancer. Darlene is God sending
you a message? Please consider coming back to Exodus. You are loved and
missed. Why would God call you back to lesbianism, give you a lover and
then take her away. I'm sorry that you are going through this. My heart
is breaking right now but I believe that you belong to the Lord and "He
chastizes the one's that he loves". I believe He is calling you back.
If you want to talk I am here to listen. Please call me at [removed] if
you want to talk. May God Bless You,

Anthony Falzarano



There's so much wrong with that, I won't even bother to start to tear it apart.  Thank G-d, Darlene had an excellent response, which you can read here.  But, man do we need places where people can go and not get this type of "comforting".

Nexus Search Committee  

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We had another meeting last night- the first to actually review candidate profiles.  Man, this is even more work than I thought it would be.  But, it's going really well.  Nexus has received a dozen candidate profiles (which means at least a dozen people are interested in exploring the possibility of being the pastor at Nexus).  The meeting went amazingly well.  We went through a dozen candidates in about an hour and did a quick up/down vote on each.  Up means we want to know more about them, down means we think they are better suited for another opportunity.

Ruth Brandon (our Association Minister) spoke with us last week and said something very profound.  The process of choosing a pastor is more like looking for a spouse than an employee.  We on the Call Commitee (Search Committee) take our responsibility very seriously.  Choosing the right pastor could make or break Nexus and we all know that.  

The process we're going through is actually working very well.  We did a survey of the congregation asking each person to choose their top twelve out of forty-two possible characteristics for a candidate.  Things like "Is an effective preacher/speaker", "Works well with youth", "Helps others live their faith in their daily life", "Works for social justice".  This process forces you to prioritize what is most important to you because you can only choose twelve.  Each of the candidates ranks himself on the same characteristics as do their references.  Of course what is of the utmost importance to some of us is of little importance to the others and vice versa.  But, we have the church's input to guide us, which is helpful.  For example, for me being an effective preacher/speaker is way down on the list.  Unless they're going to bore me to death on Sunday morning, I'm much more concerned with them being a good listener, coordinator, coach and organizer than with them standing up and teaching me.  But, for our church it is very important. So, we have to look for that in our candidate and I have to keep in mind what's best for Nexus, not what's best for Brian.  Having that and the results of the broader survey of the congregation we just completed is very helpful.
The profiles we receive are different from your standard resume. They are extremely well done and give us as good a picture of a candidate as you could get on paper. They consist of a resume-like portion.  But, it's is nice because it is in a standard format so it makes them easy to compare.  The candidate tells us which type of position they are looking for (the profile is not specific to Nexus so we get to see their real thoughts).  Do they want to be a pastor on staff (one of many)?  Do they want to be the sole pastor of a church?  Are they interested in new church starts?  It also gives their history, expected salary/benefits, etc.  The person then gets a chance to make a free-form statement about their view of ministry. This is a very important part to me.  We get to see their writing style (are they to-the-point or verbose?), their view of the role of the church and their view of a pastor's role in the church.  They give us telephone references we can check (which we will not do until much later in the process).  Then, they give us a self-appraisal.  The point of the statement on ministry is their view of ministry, in general.  Then, they tell us how they do in ministry.  This is a very telling section also.  In the next section, they take the 42 point survey mentioned above. But, we also have the results of each of their references' views on them.  So, while they may think they're the best preacher in the world, if none of their references (and it's not just three, it's about eight) think so, we have to wonder what's going on there.  Then, each references gives a free form statement on the candidate.  This is very helpful because you can get some really good information here that you would not pick up on a standard resume.  The last part of the profile is a background disclosure.  Have they had any criminal issues, disciplinary issues, etc.?  It's a "yes or no" thing, unless they have had issues in which case, they are given a chance to explain. 
Each committee member had all of the profiles before the meeting and we had each read them all and made our personal notes on the candidates.  One thing I have to say is I am so proud to be a part of a congregation and a denomination that is truly "open and affirming".  We are receiving profiles from people with a broad spectrum of sexuality and it's right there in their profiles. For such a small sampling (12), we had several people who are "out" about their sexuality.  The UCC is getting the reputation for being a place that is truly accepting of gay, lesbian and transgendered people and peopel who have lost their positions in other denominations (I won't name names) are coming to the UCC as a place of refuge.  Now, it's one thing to say you're open and affirming and another to actually practice it.  I can honestly and without any reservation say that sexual orientation did not play a role in our selections at all.  I've been in meetings where things that weren't supposed to be considered were actually talked about "in code".  But, there was none of that from our committee.  I don't know if we'll end up with a gay or straight pastor, man or woman.  But, I do know that we will not not consider a candidate because he's gay.  And, I know women have just as good a chance as men.  In fact, the split between the number of profiles we've looked at has been very evenly split between men and women as is the number of men and women we are taking forward in the process.   Another thing that was great to see is we did receive a profile of a candidate with a blemish on his background check and it was not seen a reason to not consider the candidate.  Even within a lot (most?) churches, while forgiveness is talked about a lot, it's not easily given.  
As we reviewed each candidate, it was pretty amazing to hear how similar our views were on most of them.  The members of the committee are Debbie Bereda, Katie Kool, Karl Ulrich, Pam Benjamin, Judy Waldron and myself.  In many cases, Debbie's notes could have been mine and Pam had some of the same comments I did.  I had highlighted my favorite candidates before going into the meeting.  One thing about the committee is that we have committed to making decisions based on unanimous agreement rather than majority rules.  If a candidate is going to go forward, we all have to agree.  If a candidate is not going to go forward, we all have to agree.  I had one candidate to go forward that a couple of people initially did not want to put forward.  But, we agreed to put her forward.  I had one that I wanted to put forward but people pointed out things in her profile that were not a good fit. She will not go forward.  There was one that I would not have put forward, but most people wanted to and convinced me it was a good idea to.  So, even where we had initial disagreements, we came to a unanimous decision pretty quickly on each and every candidate.
The result is out of the twelve profiles we received, we will tell six that we are not the best fit for them and we will ask six for more information.  We will send them our church profile (kind of our resume) and ask them to review it. We will ask them if they are still interested in Nexus. We will also ask them some questions to get a better feel for them.  We meet again in a week to try to narrow the six down to two or three and to consider any additional profiles we get in the meantime.
If you're a member of Nexus reading this and have any questions about the process, please feel free to ask.  We want to be as transparent as confidentiality allows.  We on the committee cannot discuss any individual candidates we are considering but we are free to talk about the process and want to keep everyone in the congregation informed.

Sean Is Home  

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Wow.  
What a roller coaster the last week has been.  Sean’s surgery was a 
week and a half ago now.  After the surgery they were concerned Sean 
might have brain damage from the lack of oxygen during the operation.  
Last week his temperature was up and down, his blood pressure was up 
and down and the Masters were told that he might be in the hospital for 
weeks.
Over 
the weekend, Sean made a dramatic turn for the better and the 
cardiologist and swallowing therapist (he had lost his ability to 
swallow) agreed that Sean could go home.
There 
are still a few financial issues the Masters have to work out.  But, 
the good news is the operation is over, was  a success and Sean is back 
at home on the road to recovery.
If you want to see some pictures of Sean's ordeal, click here:  Sean's Photobook

Masters Family (Sean) Still Recovering  

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This is the latest report from Debra. The good news is Sean is making progress. The not so good news is the recovery is going to take longer than anticipated and the Masters family will have to scramble once again to come up with the resources to be there for Sean's recovery. But, they are staying in good spirits and Sean is making "baby steps" (not literally yet).


From Debra
He is unable to talk above a hoarse whisper, unable to swallow water or food. His muscles are totally weak from 2 days of being basically frozen and the same 2 days of paralytic drugs so he wouldn't shiver, and 4 days of narcotics. Dr. Burg says that for about 4 days his muscles were in a state of "lack of tone, like a fetus" for all this time and that he has to relearn to use them all. including eye muscles (hence, his seeing double). He was up in a chair today for 5 minutes. It exhausted him. He slept 4 hours afterward.
We are on his 6th unit of blood, and they did a sonogram looking for pooling blood somewhere. They didn't find any. Tomorrow if his hemoglobin levels are again low, they will do another CT angiogram. He will also, definitely, have an MRI to see if there is any brain damage from the 5 minutes he was without oxygen to the brain.
Because of all the weakness, he will probably be in the hospital another 2 weeks relearning stuff and regaining control of his muscles. And then another 3 weeks of outpatient therapy once he gets home. Which put us in panic mode. We had this planned down to the week with our leave and such and this totally blew us out of the water. We came home in a somber mood tonight.
So the good news is he's off the breathing machine, he has the drainage tubes out and the pacemaker wires. He has 2 of his arm IVs out but the central line is still in his neck (for feeding and blood and meds). He is about 97% oxygenated most of the time. His blood pressure is good. He's moving around in the bed. So we have made progress and he will continue to make progress...just not by August 18th when I have to go back to work, or by August 22nd by the time Jon has to go back to work.
We appreciate all strengthening and healing thoughts and prayers on his behalf.
Update- morning of August 6th
the catheter is out and he is able to use the restroom (in bed) on his own. we have given him a list of what he has to accomplish to be allowed to go home which are:


  • swallowing water

  • eating food

  • sitting unassisted

  • standing unassisted

  • walking


he wanted to get out of bed the instant we gave him the list, but we didn't let him. it's a good attitude though and his voice, also, seems to be coming back steadily. still a little raspy/husky but we can hear him now whereas before we'd have to put our ear to his mouth. so this is excellent. he is also using better, more complex, vocabulary. 

he also saw photos of himself early on in the process and was stunned at how he looked. at one photo he said he looked dead in the photo. so he is now aware of the progress he has made, which encourages him, because he was so discouraged when they said he couldn't go home for 2 weeks.


Dremel Your Dog's Nails- Why Didn't Somebody Tell Me About This?  

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Paisley's PeticureImage by PaisleyPitbull via Flickr

I was watching TV the other day and saw an ad again for a device called Peticure. Like all good made for TV products, they told me about my problem and how terrible and unbearable it was and then tried to sell me on their solution.  The difference in this case was I actually hate clipping my dog's toe nails.  I'm not really a squeamish person. But, the thought of clipping a dog's nails actually give me chills.  Peticure was supposed to be the answer to that problem.  So, I checked them out.  Along the way, I made an amazing discovery, something I wish someone had told me years ago.

In doing research on whether the Peticure is a worthwhile product, I ran across the fact that people have been using a Dremel on their dogs' nails.  My first thought was "This is nuts!  Using a power tool to trim my dog's nails."  But, I read on and actually found a site that gave great detail as to why this an easier and better way to trim your dog's nails.  With Zoe, my 60 pound flat coated retriever, Ty and I have trimmed her nails a couple of times using the guillotine clippers (which I just learned are probably the worst ones to use).  But, it's a struggle.  So, I pay the vet to clip them.  The last time I had her there it took three of us to get her done and we still didn't get the back ones.  She yelped squirmed the whole time.  Her nails are very big, very hard and they splinter when clipped.  I kept thinking there has to be a better way.  
I am extremely skeptical when it comes to made for TV products. My mother has ordered enough for me to have learned that 95-99% of them are junk.  And, I thought, if this thing is so great, why arent' vets and groomers using it?  So, I wasn't about to order the Peticure without doing some research.  What I found is while a couple of people complained about the quality of the construction of the product, just about everyone who tried it talked about how well it worked and how the experience of trimming their dogs' nails had become so much more pleasurable.  I always put off getting Zoe's nails trimmed so they are usually long, sharp and curved.  Even taking her to the vet and having the "professionals" do it was unbearable for both me and for her. The thing that turned me off to the Peticure was their business practices.  Many people complained about waiting weeks and months to get their product.  I just visited their site and at least does say it will be weeks. Running my own internet business, I know people don't read.  So, maybe they didn't see that or maybe Peticure just put it up recently. But, I wanted to get started right away.
After checking out a detailed web page on dremeling your dog's nails, I went to Amazon.com where I was going to purchase a Dremel kit designed for trimming dog's nails.  But, after seeing the reviews there I found the sanding drum that comes with the kit is probably too small for Zoe (it's only 1/4" diameter).  So, off to Lowe's.  I didn't find the right Dremel at Lowe's.  Everything they had there was too powerful or just overkill in terms of price and attachments.  I wound up at the dreaded Wal-Mart (yeah, I know- I hate Wal-Mart!).  But, in a moment of weakness while searching for a rare light bulb, I dropped in and found a 4.8V Dremel for under $20.  It spins at 5,000 and 10,000 RPM.  Given that the Peticure was $50 plus shipping (the advertised price of $29.99 is for the "petite" model), I figured I'd give the Dremel a shot.  I started out on the low speed and with the sanding drum that came with it (a little rough).  I learned that the low speed actually seemed to cause more vibration and bothered Zoe more than when I kicked up the speed.  Also, based on the recommendation of this site, I switched to a 120 grit sanding wheel (finer).   That made the whole experience smoother.  I see that the medium sized Peticure is more powerful than the Dremel and it spins faster (although they caution you not to turn it up past a certain level).  Frankly, I didn't want a lot of power in the tool.  One thing you have to be careful of when doing this is heat build up from the spinning wheel.  It doesn't take a lot of torque to drive that little wheel and the more pressure you apply, the more heat you're going to build up.  I've found the 4.8V is plenty powerful to do the job.
I tried it on Zoe last night.  At first, she was not at all happy about anything near her feet.  Zoe is about the most gentle and trusting dog in the world.  She'll let me do anything to her. So, since she hates having her nails trimmed so much, I know there must be some serious discomfort there.  I began by just introducing her to the tool.  She has no problems with being scared of noise.  But, when I began touching it to her nails, she did pull back. I think that was instinctive rather than from any real discomfort. Plus, at the lower speed and with the rougher wheel, the tool did create quite a bit of vibration.  I then turned the tool off and just spent a while playing with her toes until she got comfortable with me handling them and realized I was not going to do anything to hurt her. 

This morning, I called Zoe over to me and showed her the Dremel. She didn't run away.  Good sign.  I turned it on and began.  This time at the higher speed and with the smoother sanding band.  At first she squirmed.  But, I firmly laid her back down and started again.  She'd lay there for a while, then start getting fidgety and gently nipping at my hand or the Dremel.  I'd set it down, lay her down again and start again.  After just a few minutes, she was completely relaxed and I completed all four paws.  The first time I decided not to push it and didn't take her nails nearly as short as the pictures I had seen.  I wanted to make sure it was pleasant experience for her.  But, I did take them shorter than we've been able to clip them.  They are nice and round now.  
The one thing that looks nice about the Peticure is that it does have a safe guard on it.  I think this catches dust and prevents the grinding wheel from catching in the dog's hair.  Since, I (should) keep Zoe's hair around her feet trimmed anyway, the fear of catching the hair was actually incentive for me to trim her feet up.  So, I did that before I started.  There is some dust created from filing down the nails.  Of course I don't know how well their dust catcher works.  But, the dust is not unbearable. Since I got my Dremel for $20 and zero waiting, I'm happy with what I've got.  The Peticure might be better.  But, for me, this is a light years ahead of that stupid guillotine clipper which hit the trash can this morning.
I wish someone had told me about this years ago.  So, I'm telling you now.

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Sean's Improving  

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I got word from Debra that Sean is on the mend. This report is from Friday evening. The doctors are optimistic.  It looks like it'll be tomorrow (Sunday- 3 days after his surgery) before they start waking him up though:

good BP today, less up/down/up/down. urine output dropped today so they gave him some lasix. good pulses. he's breathing every other breath even with the ventilator. it breathes then he breathes. you can see the difference on the monitor. eeg has lots of movement so it looks like he's thinking/dreaming. they say people who have been on heart bypass have wild dreams for several months after...his skin doesn't feel like ice anymore, which is really nice. so we are stable. muffled heart tones. responsive pupils (although sluggish). they are very optimistic. so we are trying to be also.  he's off the paralytic medicine and only on pain/sleep meds. he'll be back to 98.6F tomorrow by the time we get up. then they'll start taking stuff off/out. (chest tubes, ventilator, breathing tube). after all is warm and all is out that can be, they will start waking him up. right now they are still saying it will be sunday.

Please Pray for Sean  

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Sean Masters had his heart surgery yesterday.  I don't have the details yet. But, there were unexpected complications. Sean's mother emailed me that he did not have a pulse for "several minutes" due to some problem with the heart-lung bypass machine.  All I know right now is they are keeping him sedated and cool (below normal body temperature) until tomorrow (Saturday).  We appreciate what you have done for the family with your financial contributions and we are soliciting your prayers as they go through this trying time.
Peace,
Brian

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