Stuck in the Middle with You

Today is Wednesday of Annual Conference Week. It is the end of our meeting time and in a few minutes the bishop will drop his gavel and "set" the appointments for the coming year. My appointment will be to return to the First Farragut United Methodist Church for a fourth year. I am excited to be going back and hope that for many years to come, when the appointments are set, my name will be listed beside First Farragut with incremental years that approach double digits.

During this Conference, I have had many opportunities to reflect back on these three years at First Farragut. On Sunday, after two morning worship services where we looked at how the disciples dealt with the obstacle of the Jewish leaders and what they were called to do and say by God, the Brewster Family boarded the family motor home. With the Saturn in tow, we headed to Lake Junaluska, NC. Shortly after crossing the North Carolina state line, in the midst of the winding and mountainous I-40, I was confronted by a guardrail to the right of me, a car in the lane left of me, and a wheel (metal rim with tire attached) in front of me. It was in my lane. I slowed down as much I could, but we hit the wheel. My decision was to not push the car next to me into the concrete barrier.

The impact with the wheel blew the front wheel of the motor home, damaged the entry steps, and busted the wheels and tires on the right side of our towed Saturn. The next 45 minutes were spent trying to find someone open on a Sunday, near our location in Nowhere, NC, who could help us with three flat tires. We waited for another 2 hours for help to finally arrive.

Due to the delay, I missed the opening worship of Annual Conference. Monday was spent looking at why Holston Annual Conference needs to adopt "A Call to Action" to address the need for more vital churches. This meant we looked terrible statistics of loss and decline over 40 years. Then we followed this depression by haggling over a couple of line items in the budget for next year. As I left for the afternoon, I decided to run around The Lake and reflect.

In three years, we've made some pretty big decisions. Some might even say that we decided to hit a pretty good sized wheel in the road, because the other options weren't really options. As we had these times of visioning and discerning, we reached these difficult decisions with consensus. We all agreed to move boldly, risking what may come for the glory of God. Sometimes it felt like at least three wheels had fallen off. It was difficult to find help because our situation was unique and was bigger than most could handle. The wait was longer than we expected. We wanted results quicker than they came.

But help did come. Three wonderful guys made it to us and changed our motor home tire, towed our car to safety, and then found us rims and tires to complete our fix. I believe our help has arrived for us as a church ... and it's not me. It's the Holy Spirit working in and through us in ways we have not experienced before. There is hope ... We are already doing most of what "A Call to Action" suggests. So, in this next year we'll concentrate on becoming more vital as a congregation.

BIT: So, First Farragut, in a few moments as the gavel falls, in the words of Stealers Wheel describing being on tour (and other things), I'm "stuck in the middle with you". Yes, "clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you, Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you, stuck in the middle with you."

BITTER: Whether we have cars to the left and a guardrail to the right on a winding mountainous road ... Or clowns to the left and jokers to the right, we're stuck on this tour bus together ... For at least one more year. I believe we are going to have a great time, filled with fun adventure as we become a more vital congregation for Jesus Christ. So, here's to Fantastic Four (oh, I may have my blog title for June 2012)!

Fifteen

It happened soon after we were married. It was not a subject that came up in our premarital counseling. We did not discuss it in the nine months we were dating ... nor during our 6 week engagement (which btw had some talking). There were none around the parsonage during any of this time. She had no clue.

We were at a store. I saw them. I lit up with excitement. "Honey, we have to have them!" The answer was a resounding "No. They are creepy." After pleading for some time she put the exclamation point on the discussion with, "And, I find it disturbing that you like them."

They are gnomes. I'm not much on "yard art." But gnomes make me happy. Don't know why. They are not like most "yard art" that jumps out at you and says, "Here I am!" Instead, they are hidden celebrations.

Anyway, we overcame the impasse. Any good husband would not want something that "creeps out" his wife lying around the house ... so I let it go. Then, a couple of years ago my wife gave me a couple of gnomes as a present. She told me these two "don't creep me out as much". They look like normal gnomes to me, so I know this was a sacrificial gift from her to me. I try to keep them hidden in the garden.

BIT: Today, Gincy and I celebrate having been married for 15 years. The gnomes are just an example of the give and take that has to take place to survive that long. Yes, I know 15 years is just a drop in the bucket in comparison to some ... but that just gives me something toward which to look forward. And, I must say that Gincy has had to give more than take. Our prenuptial agreement is a testament to that:

1. She would always have to work, because I probably wouldn't make enough. Which has meant her working at Target and The Thifty Nickel.


2. She would have to move and follow me in my work. Which has meant the stress of finding new jobs everywhere we go.


3. She would never be able to tell a church member to "go to hell," even if they needed to hear it (especially if they needed to hear it). Later, this #3 was amended to include Conference Officials. Which has meant that Gincy has had to bite her tongue on numerous occasions.

BITTER: So, in our first fifteen years, our journey has included: burying both of our last grandmothers, mourning the tragic death of our nephew (Spencer Alford), surviving adopting two fantastic boys (passed parenting test not once, but twice!), vacationing in Mexico (said she'd never do it, never say never), Bahamas, Key West, and Maine, been to Guatemala (wouldn't call it a vacation); we've survived a car accident in South Carolina, survived Hailapocalypse in Farragut, experienced every parent illness known to humanity, meningitis with our oldest, and both of our kids having matching forehead scars.

And so, today, I mark a fifteen year journey with my beautiful wife, Gincy, with what I have selected as my 2011 theme song.