Credit Card Fraud

As I looked at my credit card statement, I could see how it began innocuously enough. A 95 cent charge from a company that I didn’t recognize was on my bill, but the name sounded like a video rental place. A few days later, there was a $3.99 fee on my bill from the same company, and another identical charge a few days after that. The thing was, I knew that I didn’t rent videos in that manner. (The name, by the way, is ReelHD.com., and there are many internet reports of phishing and scamming from that company.)

Here’s how it works: Scammers send through a tiny trial charge, such as the 95 cents that was charged to my account. When it goes through and they realize they have a valid card number, they simply keep submitting innocent-looking charges. The person paying the bill may assume that someone in the family is renting movies and pay it unquestioningly. Before long, a sizeable number of charges have accrued, but always in small, difficult-to-notice increments. Their success lies in making lots of small charges, rather than one big, attention-grabbing charge.

As Lent draws to a close, the past 40 days have given us a way to examine our lives closely. If we don’t take time periodically to really examine our lives, we might miss something. Sin sneaks in subtly, usually in small, inconsequential ways. For most of us, the issue of sin isn’t about the big things, like whether we should rob a bank on our way into work. Instead, it’s the small things that are only a smidge away from the right things. Here’s one clue, if you find yourself saying the following: “It’s not a big deal if I (fill in the blank). No one will notice, and it won’t make any difference anyway.” Before long, well, we’ve racked up a whole bunch of charges without noticing. And it all begins so simply.

In my situation, the only way to stop Reelhd from continuing to make charges to my account is to cancel the card. I have reported it to my card company, and they have said that they will refund my money “after they have completed their investigation.” While it took me 30 seconds of Googling to complete my particular investigation, I assume it will take much longer before I see my refund.

The author of Hebrews urged us to make that same type of drastic change if needed: “. . Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. . .” Sin starts subtly and clings closely, and all we can do is run the race ahead of us. But how?

The promise of Easter brings us confidence. No matter how much we are burdened, the risen Christ reminds us that, ultimately, sin and fraud and anything else that weighs us down are running out of time. The race has already been won.

Blocked by Facebook?

I wrote a blog about the Global Leadership Summit, and Facebook blocked it as having "abusive or spammy" content. Hmmm . . . I have no idea where that has come from, so I'm appealing it to the Facebook Powers That Be. Have I been hacked?

Global Leadership Summit: Part 1

Yesterday, I participated in a “Global Leadership Summit.” There were about 40 of us gathered at the Conference office, and we were connected via the internet to over 1000 other groups such as our around the world. Our task was to discuss the “Call to Action,” a massive proposed restructuring of the UMC. While many of these ideas have been tossed around for years, the global economic crisis has brought a new urgency to this conversation. One might think, cynically, “Restructuring . . . blah blah blah . . . forget that, let’s pay attention to the important stuff.” I think that how we structure our lives does affect how we do the important stuff of our lives.

During the question/answer portion, the moderator announced, “We have a question from the Congo: What is the mission of the UMC?” Behind me, one of my colleagues said by rote, “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Thankfully, Bishop Wenner from Germany, one of the other moderators, recited the same words. Bishop Palmer expanded on that definition for a few moments, speaking about ways that the world can be transformed, such as ending hunger and poverty. In that exchange, there was no mention of UM structures or polity. There was a strong affirmation that they will know we are Christians by our love, not our form of church government.

But- our governance creates the mechanisms by which we show our love, transform the world, and proclaim the gospel. How we organize ourselves affects how we serve. It is like that the old adage says, “Your checkbook shows what is most important to you.” How we choose to focus our attention and resources reflects what we value, and it will drive the how we live out our stated mission.

As I looked around the room, though, I had to wonder. Those of us gathered there are the ones who have been part of the existing system. We have lived within its boundaries. Can those of us who are invested in the system as it exists currently be successful in turning it on its head? Or, as this proposal continues to work its way through the church, will stakeholders begin to protect their respective turfs? Will the final proposal be watered-down and incremental? The biggest challenge is that those persons who will vote on this proposal- General Conference delegates- are, by definition, those who have been most successful within the current system. Can the General Conference bring itself to change itself?

Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It is a worthy and high mission, one that I strive to fulfill. What happens at General Conference doesn’t stay at General Conference, it works its way into our churches and our lives.

Measurable Outcomes

I was at lunch today with a group, and one person leaned over to speak to me. “I was a banker, and if I didn’t show a 10% increase each year, I would lose my job. Preachers need that same accountability.” I agreed, “Yep, only working 4 hours each week is a cushy job that I have.” We both smiled, no offense taken on either side.

I then went on to describe to him, briefly, some of the changes we are seeing in the United Methodist Church. In Missouri, we report our attendance, baptisms and professions of faith weekly. The Northern Alabama Conference takes this report a step further, posting a Conference-wide “dashboard” that shows those numbers for every church. (You can see it at http://www.northalabamaumc.org/weeklyreport.asp) On this site, they list the top five and bottom five churches each week in terms of growth or decline. Frankly, I take issue with posting the bottom five churches in this manner. I can imagine pastors and churches that are doing the hard work of adaptive change, or perhaps helping to plant a new church. Often, there is a short-term but expected decline in numbers at these times. Showing up on the bottom five list could undermine the vision of the church leadership in some of these situations.

Having said that, I realize that even those of us in the God business need to be held accountable. Until we get to that final accounting, we are stuck with human measures. Worship attendance, professions of faith, baptisms, financial giving to the church are some of the indicators that have been identified as useful. All of that information has always been available, and if making it more accessible helps us to focus on the task at hand, then I am all for it. The challenge, of course, is how to measure that which is largely unmeasurable. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” How do you quantify Jesus’ Great Commandment?

As I think about “measurable outcomes,” I can’t help but think about that pastor in Florida. He threatened to burn the Koran. He was warned, by no less than the President of the United States, that a likely outcome of such an action would be loss of life overseas. The pastor burned the Koran. Twelve UN workers were killed in retaliation. An expected and measurable outcome of that action. I in no way want to condone the horrible actions of those persons who murdered the UN workers. However, I cannot understand that pastor’s choice. Why choose to act in a manner that will have such results?

My actions matter. How I practice my ministry matters. I have a blessed opportunity through ministry to change the world for good. If I- and the rest of the leadership and membership of First Church- are doing things well, then more people will have a chance to know God. And the numbers just might reflect that. Creating measurable expectations can help us do our work better. After all, what I am glibly calling “numbers” are real, flesh-and-blood humans, humans who can use some Good News. And if I practice ministry poorly, or worse, then real humans will suffer.

Like everyone else who bears the name “Christian,” I am about the business of loving God and neighbor, the way Jesus commanded us. It is a calling that I take much too seriously to avoid talking about measurable outcomes, yet it is also a calling that I take much too seriously to be limited by those same outcomes.

The Big Easy

This week has been the first time that I’ve been to this part of the nation since coming for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. Rather than coming to clean out flood-ravaged homes, this time I’m here with other United Methodist clergywomen from the South Central Jurisdiction. (Roughly, the SCJ encompasses Missouri and Kansas and all states immediately below them down to the Gulf of Mexico- plus a quick grab for Nebraska up above.) We have worshiped together, prayed together, heard some great keynote speakers, and begun to talk about possibilities for our next female bishop(s). In other words, we have done some good and important work together.

I was asked to be part of a panel. “I Am Woman, I Am Clergy, I Am Tired.” I enjoyed the opportunity to think back on the years of having three young children in the home, while trying to serve a church to the best of my ability. I remembered a book that Andy and I saw back in the ’80’s: Having It All. . Just Not All at Once. Sometimes, something as minute as the title of a book can have a huge impact on lives, and those words became a guiding principle for us. We both made career choices in line with our priority for our family. For me, getting to work less than full time for 11 years was a wonderful gift. I remember still how tiring those days with young children were, even working part time.

In the spirit of rest and renewal, I’ve been able to find some time and space for play while down here. I’ve enjoyed exploring many shops and restaurants in New Orleans with some dear friends. Street musicians have kept a swing in my step as I walk. A statue that turned out to be a living person made me jump. Sitting by the side of the Mississippi by day and on the outside balcony of a restaurant at night has offered great opportunities for thinking and sightseeing.

One of our speakers reported that a man on the airplane mocked her for coming to a gathering of clergywomen. It clearly was some sort of boondoggle, he told her. Boondoggle? I had to look up that word to remind myself of its definition: “An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity.” Hmmm . . . getting to hear someone preach besides me . . . reflecting back on some important years of my life and perhaps offering some insight to others coming along . . . walking in the sunshine and fresh air, with a spring in my step . . . being with others who understand the unique joys and challenges of this preaching life . . . I don’t think the words “unnecessary” or “wasteful” describe the experience of this week. But “blessing” surely does.

My Locked Room Mystery

I am a fan of mysteries, including the “locked room mystery.” The basic premise: a room is locked from the inside, and something (usually a murder) happens within the locked doors- how? I have my own version of a locked room mystery.

Yesterday, I was at a local hospital, visiting a church member. My preference is to take stairs instead of elevators whenever possible, but I had not been able to locate the stairway in this new-ish hospital. When I was leaving the room I was visiting, I saw a downstairs stairwell, so I took it. I opened the door onto the first floor, and I found myself in a passageway between the hospital and the doctor’s building. I tried the door to the hospital. Locked. I tried the door to the doctor’s building. Locked. I tried the door back into the stairwell. Locked. I was trapped. The only object in that locked hallway was a phone to security. I called security, and they promised to send someone to set me free.

As I was waiting in my locked room, a doctor in full scrubs appeared. “Can I help you out of here?” “Yes,” I said gratefully. “Sally?” he said. I looked more carefully under his puffy surgical cap and realized that I knew him from some years ago. He was on his way into surgery. In the thirty seconds that it took for him to use his key card to escort me back to the main hospital hallway, we reconnected. His life had taken some turns, and he was looking for a church. I knew which of our services would resonate most with his musical preferences and suggested it. He said he would come to worship this week. And then we parted ways.

With my apologies to Bogey in Casablanca, of all the locked hospital hallways in the world that he could have walked into, he walked into mine. Really, what are the odds of my getting lost in a surgical hallway in a hospital and running into a surgeon that I know personally, one who happens to be looking for a church? This is my locked-room mystery, and the question is the same: how? The answer is, thankfully, an easy and obvious one. I may not know the details, but the answer is the same as for any of the mysteries of life that I face: It’s a God thing. Who else could take a locked room and turn it into an avenue for possibility?

Copyright Infringement

Really, the Supreme Court decision was inevitable. When they upheld Fred Phelps’ right to picket at military funerals, they got it right. One of the best things about this country is the gift of free speech. We only have to look at the uprisings other parts of the world to be reminded of how privileged we are to be able to say whatever we want, even if our government may not like it. We have discovered the rub in all of this free speech, though. People are free to say whatever they like, even if we don’t like it. A lawsuit that questioned the same freedoms that soldiers fought and died for was not the way to win.

Yes, his signs are terrible and offensive. Worst of all for me is that he has somehow claimed the name “church.” That’s a brand name that I bear, too. Fifteen members of a family who live together in some strange compound are able to call themselves a church and spew hatred. That’s like a place selling rancid meat and rotten potatoes and calling themselves “McDonald’s.” The lawyers for McDonald’s would shut that place down in a heartbeat. Maybe that’s the way to go . . . Let’s not assail our constitutional gift of free speech. Let’s go after him for copyright infringement.

To do so would mean that we would need to define what exactly “church” means. Ideally, it means a group of people called together by Christ, who are living out the Gospel of love in a hurting world. We could summon the image of the earliest church, where people lived together and shared all of their possessions with any who needed anything. We could claim Martin Luther King’s vision of the “beloved community,” or use Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s description in his wonderful book Life Together. These images of a group of people formed lovingly around a higher calling of love and service to the world would be a great way to define the parameters of the copyright of the brand name “church.”

However, our churches are full of people who come with these highest ideals, and also those who come for all of the wrong reasons. They may be hurting, or mad, or seeking public approval, or bored, or coming out of habit. They may harbor some of the same prejudices as Mr. Phelps, or they may come with other prejudices of their very own. They may share freely with others, or they may be looking to take as much as they can get. There are saints and sinners, hypocrites, scoundrels and the like. In other words, our churches are like any other segment of human society. Frankly, that is why I love being part of the church. There is room for everybody, including me. If we decide that “church” is only for those people who are perfect, then there probably wouldn’t be too many franchises out there.

Along with his right to free speech, I guess he has the right to call himself “church.” His family church just one more group of sinners. And so are we.