The Free Methodist Church in Canada | Spring 2013 | Volume 10, Issue 1
CONTENT COVER Fill ‘ER UP - Refueling is costly business by Rev. Dennis Camplin PAGE 2 Editor’s Desk Taking Stock by Jared Siebert PAGE 3 Managing Stress by Kim Henderson PAGE 4 SABBATICAL LEAVE A PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE by Mary Lee DeWitt PAGES 5 SABBATICAL LEAVE A BOARD MEMBER’S PERSPECTIVE by Don Cook Media and the Church Consider whether social media would work for your church by Loreli Cockram The Little Big Picture Current web stories by Alison McKinnon PAGE 6 Passages Refuel; Take stock and move forward with your money and everything else God has given you by Sandy Crozier PAGE 7 OUR HISTORY: John Wesley and Jennie Haley: Northward to Burundi (1909-1934) by Dan Sheffield ICCM: Past and present Encounter adventures by Paula Moriarity PAGE 8 “HOW CAN I HELP?” IN NIGER Lessons learned while on sabbatical by Jay Mowchenko DID YOU KNOW? The MOSAIC is produced using environmentally responsible processes. The paper is acid-free, contains 10% post-consumer waste material, and is treated with a non-chlorine whitening process. Vegetable-based inks were used throughout the publication and it is 100% recyclable.
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Reflecting the diversity of ministry expression within the Free Methodist family
FILL ‘ER UP! REV. DENNIS CAMPLIN REFUELING IS COSTLY BUSINESS
A
s I write this morning, I am looking out on the whiteness and bleakness of the frozen prairies, but I know that in just a week or so the scene will change completely. Spring will be in full bloom, nature will burst with energy, and the demands of another seeding time will be upon the men and women of the farming community in the great breadbasket of the Canadian prairies. A farmer friend, not too long ago, told me what it costs him just for fuel during the planting season. Yes, his is a large farming operation, but his fuel cost for one month was more than my income for the year! No wonder there was a slight hint of annoyance in his voice as he told of the reality of his business. I get the same feeling when I need to fill my car with fuel – too often, it seems.
Refueling is a costly business! But, it is not as costly as neglecting to give attention to the need to refuel, whether we are talking of fuel tanks in tractors and cars or the physical, emotional and spiritual tanks in each of us. How does the farmer cope with the long hours required during seedtime and harvest? How do young parents keep pace with the demands of their children’s activities, vocations, community involvements, and maybe the care of ageing parents? How does an elected politician keep going through unending demands expressed through the diverse cries of her constituents? How does a teacher stay strong through the growing challenges presented by changing culture, curriculums, and expectations of parents? How do pastors gain the strength to navigate the changing needs and expectations of the congregants and stay focused on presenting the clear word of an unchanging gospel? Every person and every vocation has unique challenges. The common ground is that each of us is faced with rapacious drains on our energy reserves and, in order to be healthy, we must always be replenishing the ‘fuel in the tank.’ But how do we do this? It would be very clever if I could come up with a new formula, or a new gimmick that is guaranteed to ensure that we will not move into the danger of depletion. Or, better yet, if there was a new and easy way to stay in the place where the inflow of energy would match (or even surpass) the demands of outflow, we could then just put it in cruise and journey on! Like in-flight refueling, wouldn’t it be great if we could top up the tank while going full speed ahead? Let me be clear when I say, “I do not have the new gimmick!” I’m going to have to settle for something different. As Peter writes in his second letter, “And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you …” So, there is nothing new here, but a reminder of what we already know! Nor is this a researched scientific paper. Rather it is a collection of ideas and practices that I have learned over the years – and actually continue to learn.
The common ground is that each of us is faced with rapacious drains on our energy reserves and, in order to be healthy, we must always be replenishing the ‘fuel in the tank.’ Remember the questions of a few paragraphs back? In essence – How do we live with enough ‘fuel in the tank’ to meet the demands of our lives in sustainable and godly ways? Know Ourselves We must know who we are and know how to ‘read’ the energy gauge that is unique to us. In his book, Teaching the Dead Bird to Sing, W. Paul Jones tells his story of discovery and renewal. Jones began his journey as a Protestant in the poverty of Appalachia, then earned degrees from Yale, taught at Princeton, became a Methodist minister, served as a chaplain for the Black Panthers, and was later ordained a Catholic priest. “It has been a long pilgrimage,” Jones writes, “strange and wild.” He admits that he came to the unhappy realization along the way that he was a “functional atheist.” He was just going through the motions. And his strength was draining – fast! The hope of resolving his spiritual identity led him to a nine-month visit to an Ozarks monastery in the mid-1980s. Determined to have it out with God, he shares his deepest longing: “I desperately want to believe …. that God is the rightful name for the cause of my having been burned with a brand-shaped WHY.” Well, he made some wonderful discoveries. Basically he concluded that his real struggle seemed to be that as an extrovert, he was intimidated by the spirituality modeled by introverts. Once he understood the
appropriate expression of his unique life he discovered that he had a spiritual song to sing. Living in harmony with who he was restored joy – and energy! When we know ourselves we know what drains us and what energizes us. Some of us are drained by the very thing that revitalizes others – and vice versa! Wherever we are on the extrovert/introvert scale, we must first of all accept ourselves and then give ourselves permission to gain renewal in ways that are right for us no matter what the external pressures seem to be. If we can be healthy to this point, I think we are well on the way to the self-awareness that will draw us to give attention to our reactions and responses that indicate our need to refuel. At this level of health we will know when the warning light is on, and that it is time to do something about it! Know the Cycles of Renewal Here I’m talking about natural cycles, or established norms and laws (if you like) that are designed to renew us. I’m thinking of cycles like day and night. Activity and rest. Established in creation, this daily cycle is designed to bring daily renewal. “We cannot burn the candle at both ends,” the old saying goes. Even though Paul reminded the Thessalonians that “Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you” he also told the same audience, “You are all children of the light and children of the day. “ In the creation narrative and in the early THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ON PAGE 3 - REFUEL