Brandon Woosley

In Praise of a Great Dog

My dog is a little sad this week.

Our youngest son Zach has started attending a new school, one which specializes in children with autism. For the past 4 years, his service dog Gemini has accompanied him to school each day, because she helps him to transition from one part of the building to another (it’s one of the skills she was trained for), and because, when we first got her, Zach seemed to focus more when she was around (Now, she’s such an ingrained part of his life that I’m not sure that’s still true).

The new school doesn’t have anything against Gemini, but they want to see if the systems they have in place can provide what Zach needs without Gemini having to help him transition. It makes sense. But it means (if the change sticks) that Gemini will be giving up what had become the biggest part of her work. There is still plenty for her to do, but the look on her face Monday when Josh got on his school bus, and the Zach got in the car to go to school – well, the look said “what about me?” It really did.

So, I just want to say that we have a marvelous dog, who has made our sons’ lives so much better during these 4 years, and will continue to do so. But, like so many people these days, she’s a little underemployed at the moment.

How Great is Our God?

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

from “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin

As I listened to a grade-school aged girl with special needs sing those words tonight, I realized that they are perfectly true.

God is great. His greatness is not seen in our greatness, or goodness, or adequacy. His greatness is seen in that he loves us and makes us part of his family even though we are not great, or even particularly good, or adequate for much of what would seem to be the stuff of being in God’s family. This is true of even the most impressive and important of human specimens. Which means God’s expansive love is also the best possible hope for those of us who are clearly not the archetype; and, the farther away from the “perfect person” that God is still willing to reach to invite people into his family, then the more amazing is his grace.

So, as I was listening to this girl who is just a little bit off in the eyes of the world, I realized that her singing, and my singing, and our singing together (and understand that this gathering of disabled persons got a little bit chaotic, perhaps especially in our praise) in fact shows the world how great our God is: he’s so great, he accepts us.

And may the world look at me, and at my sons, and at countless others who aren’t easy to see, and may they see that God loves us, and that we love him, because he has shown us who he is, and promised never to leave us or forsake us, and we are living lives of endurance and victory even in our brokenness. Because our God is great.

And if your God doesn’t quite have enough extra energy for the physically, mentally and emotionally broken, how great is he, anyway? And how can you be sure that he’ll still be willing to be “your God” if everything falls apart?

The reality is that the greatness of God, in the human realm, is most evident and undeniable when the least of these are part of the party – whether they are the homeless, the poor, the smelly, the noisy, the unable to control their bladders and bowels, the crazy, or any other unpleasant label you might be able to slap on them. And if your worship party, your congregational life, doesn’t have enough room for the lowest and the losers, how do you know your invitation to the party is permanent?

Revival

I’m heading home after two days of participating in “A Conversation on Revival”. The event was intended to bring together a variety of church leaders to think about what revival is and what it has to do with the present church in America.
You might have started wondering as soon as you saw the word Revival. People (even the people at this event) define the word in very different ways. Revival as “special annual service” or ” summer nights in a tent with a sawdust floor” doesn’t grab me very much. However, revival as a season when the Lord gives his people a special awareness of the presence and power of Christ (which J.I. Packer called awakening the “slack and sleepy” church) is far more exciting to me, and this was largely the focus of the event.
What causes such a season to occur? How can we prepare for it? What can we expect to come from such a season? These were some of the questions on our minds.
There are two things that particularly stand out in my mind. First, a season of revival is a time when the supremacy of Jesus Christ becomes the focus of the people. Many of us would like to believe that Christ is at the heart of our life and ministry already, but the reality is it just isn’t so. The church is so often self-centered, and is deluding itself into thinking it is Christ-centered. In revival, the church becomes Christ- consumed.
Second, we must pray more. If we actually want any of what we say we want as the church, we must seek the Lord much more intensely. And, the truth is that when we do we will see that what we wanted even then in our intensity of prayer was far less than what Christ is delighted to bring.

More Thoughts on Family and Church

It is hard to blog on vacation, as the days tend to run until they crash, and there is little time for solitude. I had half of an idea typed out, then a family crisis (threat level: powder blue)* happened, and when I returned to it, it was gone. However, I’ve finished the book Think Orange, and it certainly continued to push my thinking about how church and family intersect.

*My own Family Crisis Threat Level scale features the following colors, in order of ascending threat: Pink, Powder Blue, Violet, Black. There is little significance to any of this.

The key that catches my attention as I think about the ideas the author (Reggie Joiner) proposes is this: I have pastored for almost 15 years, and I have never thought about children’s and youth ministry in terms of equipping parents to do what they have been charged to do. And now that the idea has been laid before me, it feels as if there can be no going back. This is going to have to mean change.

For members of St. Paul Church who may be wondering, “Oh no,what does this mean?” – well, I don’t know. How much change it will mean depends on how much others will be willing to follow this trail. But I won’t be able to do the things I do in the same way. The whole thesis feels like one of those things that should have been obvious but wasn’t.

Away we go!

Family life and Church life

I’m reading a book that is pressing my thinking about how the church relates to families. There is a lot there that I am digesting, but here are a few central questions that are being raised within me:
What would we do differently in the church if we believe that what happens at home is as important as what happens at church?

Does our children’s ministry reflect a partnership with parents, or something less than that?
If we don’t function like we are partners with parents, what would change if we did?
If the church has access to kids for about 40 hours a year, and parents have access to their kids for about 3,000 hours a year, shouldn’t some of our time be spent helping parents use their time for greater spiritual impact?
Who has the primary duty to teach children about following Jesus, the church or the family? Does our educational plan reflect that belief?

That’s enough for now. I would be eager to hear your thoughts on these questions!