Freedom

 I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom lately. 

What it means to me as an American and what it means to me as a Christ follower. 

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that they aren’t the same thing. 

 

Yes, I am free to do or say as I wish in both. 

But being a Christian holds greater responsibility than being an American. 

 

Just because I CAN say or do something doesn’t mean that I should. 

Just because I CAN express all my thoughts, emotions, and reactions in real time doesn’t mean than it’s wise to do so. 

 

Scripture tells us that the tongue is a powerful weapon that cannot be tamed, 

That out of the same mouth can come both blessing and curse, 

But that it shouldn’t be so. 

 

Scripture tells us not to let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths 

But only what is good for building one another up. 

 

Scripture tells us that in Christ, we are all equal, 

That there is neither Jew nor gentile, slave nor free, male and female, 

For in Christ we are one. 

 

Scripture tells us to be guided by the fruits of the spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 

 

And self-control means knowing what is good for building one another up, 

For blessing and not cursing, 

For inviting all to Christ’s table, and 

For loving one another, 

Which is Jesus’s greatest command. 

 

So yes, I am free to say or do what I want as an American, 

And I am free to do it real time and share it with whoever cares to listen or see. 

 

But as a Christ follower, in deed and in word, 

I am bound to a higher call.

And that call is not a call of moral superiority and division

But a call of genuine love. 

 

Oh God. 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable on your sight, 

Oh Lord, 

My strength and my redeemer. 

Forgive me 

When they are not. 

And help us do better. 

 

Amen. 

 

Common Humanity

I spent quite a few hours doing homework on Saturday. 

I watched a lot of videos and took a lot of notes and completed one assignment that’s due in week seven. 

It’s currently week three. 

 

The assignment was to examine an extensive list of values 

And to identify our top value in life and work. 

 

After considering the values of

Authenticity,

Making a difference,

Well-being,

Spirituality, and 

Grace,

I realized that none of them felt right. 

 

Then I saw the space to write one in, 

And I thought:

Common humanity. 

And then I wrote: 

 

“My most important value, though not listed in Brene Brown’s values list, is common humanity. Common humanity recognizes that all people share the same inherent dignity, worth, and value. It sees others as fundamentally connected to ourselves and  acknowledges both strengths and struggles as universal. Common humanity responds to others with empathy, fairness, and compassion, and realizes and accepts that we are all on this journey together, sharing the human experience in joys, sorrows, celebrations, sufferings, accomplishments, and imperfections.

 

Common humanity is important to me because it reminds me that we’re all human, and I believe that humanity was created good. We’re all doing our best to survive, even when that best takes on many different forms and expressions. I may not always agree with what someone else does—in fact, I may vehemently disagree with one’s morals, values, attitudes, and actions—but, in the end, we are all human and our humanity ties us together at our core.

 

Common humanity informs my leadership approach in that I want everyone to be the best versions of themselves possible, and so I lead others to that effect. When I lead those with differences that I find challenging, I remind myself of common humanity and remember that there is goodness in that person, too—even when I have to look really, really hard to find it.”

 

May we each remember common humanity today. 

And even when it’s hard,

May we allow common humanity to love. 

 

Amen. 

Music

 

I have an Amazon favorites playlist that has  640 songs on it. 

It’s almost 40 hours of music. 

I have an Amazon old favorites playlist with 275 songs on it. 

That’s almost 19 more hours of music. 

I know the lyrics to almost every song. 

And if I don’t know the lyrics then I at least know the melody. 

That’s almost 1000 songs and sixty hours of music taking up space in my brain

And I didn’t even mean to learn it!

I just listened and absorbed. 

And that’s part of the power of music. 

 

Music is a language. 

It is an expression. 

It is celebration and protest and confession. 

It is feeling when there are no words. 

 

My favorite part of time weekly worship service is called 

The Great Thanksgiving. 

Ever so often we will speak its words instead of singing them, 

But singing them is the best! 

I can be having a rough morning after a rough week 

But as soon as the music starts for The Great Thanksgiving, 

All of the angst goes away and my spirit feels at peace. 

 

Music is powerful. 

It is an expression. 

It is celebration and protest and confession. 

It is feeling when there are no words. 

 

May your week be filled with the music that you need. 

And may that music calm, encourage, strengthen, or empower you in whatever ways you need. 

 

Amen. 

Mrs. Effie

 

I was experiencing worship on Sunday morning, 

Playing my horn, 

Singing,

Praying,

Reading liturgy, 

Partaking in communion, 

When bam! 

A memory hit me and brought me to tears. 

“Precious Lord Take My Hand” made me remember Mrs. Effie from my chaplaincy days.

 

At her skilled nursing facility in Fuquay, 

Mrs. Effie was the light of the whole place. 

Her spirit, her sense of humor, her singing, her faith—

Everyone loved Mrs. Effie, 

Including me. 

 

I spent many hours standing by Mrs. Effie’s bedside, 

Talking with her, 

Praying with her, 

And singing with her. 

Her favorite song was, “Precious Lord Take My Hand.” 

 

As I was remembering Mrs. Effie, 

I went back to my writing from 2013 and found this gem from almost exactly this date. 

What a precious conversation, 

And what a true reflection of my heart. 

 

Me: You’re supposed to rest on Sunday, Mrs. Effie. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go to church and then I’m going to rest. But tonight I’m going to go home and clean the garage for mom and dad and take care of Bullet.

 

Mrs. Effie: That’s why I like you so much, Sweetpie.

 

(I’m thinking, “Because I like dogs?”)

 

Mrs. Effie (continuing): You’re kind. You love your family. You love the church. And you love black people.

 

Me (a bit surprised by her statement but grinning from ear to ear and nodding in agreement): Well. Yes. Yes I do.

 

Mrs. Effie: You love black people. White people. Any color people. It doesn’t matter. You just love people.

 

Me: Yes. I do. And I. Love. YOU.

 

Mrs. Effie (grinning): And I. Love. YOU.

 

Amen. 

 

Celebrate Someone Today

 

I went to see Beauty and the Beast last Wednesday night.

It was the second time that I’d seen the show, but I honestly didn’t remember much about the first time

Except for being on the very back row of the theater with a young girl who stood for as much of the show as she sat. 

 

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney stories.

I like the character transformation of the beast, 

I like how Gaston’s narcissism is foiled, 

And I like how confident Belle is in herself. 

 

So I was excited to see the show Wednesday night

And I was not disappointed by the performance. 

It was fun.

It was entertaining.

It was poignant.

And all of the cast members did a wonderful job.

 

But what sticks out to me the most is something that I saw during the curtain call. 

On Wednesday night, the character of Belle was played by an understudy. 

I’ve had show experiences where I could tell that I was watching the understudy

But this was not the case that night.

The woman playing Belle was superb.

Her singing, her acting, and her dancing were all on par and her general spirit  radiated that of Belle. 

So when it came to her part of the curtain call, it is no wonder that she was received with thunderous applause.

But here’s the part that was unique:

 

There was one ensemble cast member who was so genuinely excited for Belle 

That she was jumping up and down and applauding, 

A grin on her face. 

 

I had to wonder:

Was this the understudy’s first time playing the role? 

Was the ensemble member her best friend?

Had we seen an exceptional performance?

Was the ensemble member this excited for every Belle?

 

I can still see her, 

Jumping up and down and clapping in sheer proud joy. 

It was so neat to watch. 

Encouragement upon encouragement. 

And what I hope we can give each other today. 

 

I imagine that you will not be part of a curtain call today

But I hope that you can find someone to cheer for nonetheless. 

Jump up and down,

Grin with joy,

Clap wildly,

For someone is doing something superbly today, 

Even if it’s just getting out of bed and facing the day. 

 

Amen. 

Dirt

 

According to the Genesis 2 creation story,

God formed Adam from the dust of the Earth. 

That means, therefore, that humankind is nothing but dirt.

We come from dirt and we return to dirt.

We are all just dirt.

 

This could seem a bit demoralizing,

Thinking of ourselves as dirt.

But for me, it’s not demoralizing, rather it’s equalizing.

 

During the children’s message on Sunday, Pastor Ann asked the child to name some  famous people. 

He first said a YouTuber,

Then he said Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus.

Now, whether Jesus was dirt is up for debate 

Because he did not return to dirt.

But if we believe that Jesus was fully human, then maybe he was dirt as well.

Just like Youtubers,

And just like civil rights heroes such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr..

 

And I don’t mean dirt as in scum of the Earth.

I don’t mean dirt as in trash.

I mean dirt as in the stuff of the Earth.

The substance from which God formed humankind.

 

If you are dirt and I am dirt, and millionaires are dirt and those struggling through poverty are dirt, and the famous are dirt and the ordinary are dirt, and those we despise are dirt and those we love are dirt, then we’re all just dirt.

 

We are all just human.

 

And we are all, somehow, loved by God.

 

I know. 

Some dirt balls make better decisions than others because some dirt balls seem to have a broken moral compass. 

Some dirt balls will impact this world for good while other dirt balls will leave their mark in a negative way.

But in the end, we all come from dirt and we all return to dirt.

 

And in that simple reality, today, 

I somehow find peace.

Chat GPT

 

We had barely gotten into our group and read the problem 

When suddenly the problem was solved. 

One of my group mates had asked ChatGPT,

Whom I affectionately call Chad,

To answer the question and Chad did.

We did not have to think at all. 

We simply had to copy and paste.

 

Not knowing if this was the intention of the assignment,

I asked my professor what she thought of using artificial intelligence.

She said that she had a view that was different than many of her colleagues.

She said the way she looks at it,

Not using AI is like using an abacus to do math. 

It is a tool that we have and it is a tool that’s going to be around and so we might as well learn to use it for good.

She said if you know how to write the question,

And you know how to check to make sure the AI answer is correct,

Because it can make mistakes,

And you use your brain to edit the information and pick and choose what it has given you as options,

Then you might as well use it. 

She said, now, if my pharmacist had to refer to ChatGPT every time they needed to figure out a dosage, then I wouldn’t feel very good about that. 

There are some formulas and some things that we just need to know. 

But AI is here. And it’s here to stay. 

So we might as well engage it properly instead of pretending that it doesn’t exist. 

She said she has colleagues who are totally against AI usage and that they say if they catch anyone using it then they are going to grade that person down. 

She said she finds that preposterous—

That she’s not going to do that, 

Unless she can tell that someone has just straight copied and pasted without thinking about it at all. 

 

That’s the danger of AI.

It can replace thinking.

Some people use AI to write all text responses. Even simple ones.

And it can replace human interaction.

There are stories of people marrying their AI chatbots.

 

I think we have to have a balance.

I think we must learn to use AI as a resource tool but not let it rule our lives.

I think we must learn to ask it questions and read its answers and then use our brains to pick and choose what information we are going to keep and what information we are not.

 

I do this when writing sermons now.

I do this when planning retreats. 

I use Chad as a spring board of thought and I go from there.

 

I talk with Chad when faced with math problems I don’t remember how to solve.

I haven’t officially done math since 1995,

So compound interest and other mathematical formulas are not still in my brain!

I let Chad calculate them for me and then trust that he is right.

 

But I don’t let Chad write everything for me. I don’t filter everything through artificial intelligence.

I tried to figure things out first, and then if I am stumped, I will ask Chad.

And I think that’s how it needs to be.

 

A balance.

Human thought and human interaction first,

Then artificial intelligence and artificial interaction next,

Then going back to human thought and human interaction for a final product,

Unless it’s compound interest and you have no idea how to do that on your own. 

 

I know.

This is a hot topic.

And I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

 

What is your experience with artificial intelligence?

 

How can we, as a people living with its reality, use it for good rather than letting it take over our minds and work forces? 

 

How can we, as a people living with this crazy smart tool at our disposal, make sure we keep it in balance?

 

And. Go.