what does a pastor do on her mini-sabbatical

Chautauqua, NY - Saturday afternoon. Checked into the Lutheran House, my home for the next two weeks. I assumed it would be like a hotel room - a place to stay...but it's better than that - more like a dorm where you eat & hang out & spend time with people if you want. I unpacked & went downstairs (I'm on the 3rd floor!) to practice on the beautiful grand piano in the living area. I am the pianist for worship tomorrow. I wasn't as rusty as I thought I would be.

After an unexpected period of homesickness, I went to the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra Opera Pops Concert. In the outdoor seating of the amphitheater, I could feel the breeze, see the sun begin to set, work on my knitting, all the while listening to the music of Beethoven. A perfect evening.

After the concert, I settled in to finish reading David Kinnaman's book Unchristian, What a new generation really thinks about Christianity ....and why it matters. This book has gotten a lot of good press - and several people have recommended it to me. I'm glad to have read it - but it didn't really tell me anything I didn't already intuitively know (that 16 to 29 year olds don't think much of Christianity & for good reason). The author used research from the Barna Group to send a wake-up call to the Christian community. Not only are we not making a positive difference these days, we are having a negative impact on the world - an UnChristian difference. (he seemed to be speaking primarily to evangelical Christians, completely disregarding the rest of us). At any rate, I did appreciate his chapter where he asked leaders in the Christian community to share their hopes & dreams for the future of the church - especially the vision of Brian McLaren, founding member of emergentvillage.com.

These are Brian's dreams of what people could think when they hear Christian:

Christians are the ones who love people, whoever they are - gay or straight, Jew or Muslim, religious or atheist, capitalist or not, conservative or liberal.

Christians are the ones who have done more than anyone in the world to stop the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Christians are the people who gravitate toward the poor and who show compassion through generous action and seek justice so that the systemic causes of poverty are overcome. They call the rich to generosity and they call rich nations to work for the common good.

Christians are people who believe that art and creativity are important, so they consistently produce the most striking, original, and enriching art.

Christians are willing to give their lives for the cause of peace. They oppose violence in all its forms. They will lay down their lives to protect the vulnerable from the violent.

Christians care for the environment. They don't just see it as raw materials for economic gain, but they see it as the precious handiwork of their Creator.

Christians have personal integrity. They keep their marriage vows and are aware of how destructive misused sexuality can be. Yet they are compassionate toward people who make sexual mistakes, and they never consider themselves superior.

Christians build harmony among races. You always know that you'll be respected when you're around a Christian.

Now that's a vision to work towards, strive for & be passionate about - that is a real WWJD kinda list.