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My New Year’s Resolutions 2022

by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Dec 7, 2021

As I look toward 2022, I have mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation. Will the pandemic finally be over, life returning to a semblance of normal? Will we, as a nation and as individuals, take on the big issues of gun violence, homophobia, and racism, and start treating one another more as a beloved community? Will the United Methodist church split? What will my own ministry look like? Uncertainty aside and focusing on the positive, I sat down to write my New Year’s Resolutions for 2022.

I’ve been in ministry for 27 years. The first 12 years as a pastor, then 15 years as support for pastors and other church leaders. My ministry has been about empowering church leaders to create shifts in their congregations and move towards greater health and vitality, personally and corporately. It’s deeply satisfying work and my life’s passion.

When the pandemic hit, I was busy traveling around the country, leading retreats and workshops, delivering keynote addresses. Much as I loved my work, the pace of travel was hard to keep up.

When the coronavirus slowed travel to a halt, my commute shrunk to the one mile between my home and office. I was relieved. My ministry moved online, though I realized there were others whose lives and work couldn’t simply adapt. Those who worked with and fed the homeless, the immigrants who worked in our fields, the healthcare workers struggling to save lives with little sleep and full hospitals, police, firefighters, nursing home caregivers. So many people risking their lives to help others live.

My team and I stayed active in our various ways, practicing reconciliation by listening to people with views other than our own, donning masks and distancing for Black Lives Matter marches, walking in solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters, donating gift cards and clothing, sending funds where we thought they’d be put to the best use. Helping others, outside of my ministry, took more creativity, but we stayed as “active” as possible within our communities.

Through my ministry, we helped lead the wave of adaptation by hosting innovative online retreats, webinars, and classes. We added free workshop options to make the ministry accessible to others, isolated in their homes as we were. And our Creating a Culture of Renewal® participants told us that they fared far better than their colleagues who didn’t have the level of support that our groups offer.

happy people together

All that notwithstanding, I really missed BEING with people. There’s no substitute for the immediacy and energy that happens in a live setting. That kind of energy fuels my creativity and my spirit.

So this year, while recognizing the suffering and lives lost, I also want to embrace all the good that the pandemic has brought our way and the options it’s given me to reach out in faith to an even wider audience. Thus, I share my New Year’s resolutions for my life’s ministry.

Be it resolved that in the service of church leaders everywhere in 2022, in partnership with God I will be creative, daring myself to think outside the box, and taking on things that scare me.

Be it resolved that I will deepen my commitment to authentic Christian community by empowering my ministry team to lead powerfully.

Be it resolved that I will envision and give voice to new futures and not let the fear of failure or rejection hold me back. Like other leaders, I worry about what others think of me. To hell with that. With a high percentage of Protestant senior pastors getting burned out and , this work is more important than ever.

Out of these New Year’s resolutions, my ministry goals include hosting a live event: A Celebration of Renewal; publishing a book: Growing the Post-Pandemic Church (Market Square 2022); doubling the number of visions that come to life through Creating a Culture of Renewal®; laying the foundation for the Creating a Culture of Renewal® Fellowship for Clergy of Color; and creating new offerings.

In a previous blog, How My Faith Has Changed, I reported on a recent risky conversation with my bishop. Rather than being dismissive or uninterested in how my beliefs had changed, she leaned in. She wanted to hear more. I told her that I believe discipleship is the first step in the Christian journey, not the destination. That Jesus calls us to step into the faith and practices of apostleship. That apostleship requires a higher consciousness and a deeper faith. That we need apostleship pathway systems to follow up on discipleship pathway systems. She asked me if I had that sort of system mapped out yet. I told her no. “Let me know when you do,” she said. That is my dream project for 2022.

Will I fulfill all my New Year’s resolutions? Will I hit every goal? If last year and the year before are any indication, probably not. However, life will present unexpected opportunities and new goals will take the place of old ones. This coming year is a fresh opportunity to trust God, partner in faith, and set out on a vigorous course of action. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, all things are possible. Even the Beloved Community in a nation rife with unrest.

Do you want support to set new resolutions and to envision new goals? To partner in faith with God in an unknown future? Then I invite you to join me in the new year to explore Platinum Rule Leadership for Changing Times.

Renew Your Advent Through Time-Honored Prayer

by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Dec 1, 2021

Advent. Waiting. “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” Waiting.

The season of Advent is one of hope, as we, not only wait for the coming of the Christ child, but wait for Jesus’ second coming.

If I’m being honest, I’m tired of waiting. As a nation, as a world, we’ve been waiting since the start of the pandemic. When will it end? When can we visit friends and loved ones again? When can we return to work, restaurants, stores, events, etc.? We were, in essence, forced into a period of waiting.

What were we waiting for? You could sum it up in one word: normal. When can we go back to normal? Thankfully, it seems the veil covering normal has started to fall. Many traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday. Restaurants and businesses are open, just in time for the Christmas transformation of lights, wreaths, Christmas trees, and shopping frenzy.

We’ve arrived at Advent, again called to a time of waiting.

What are we waiting for? We all know Jesus has already come. While he was here, incarnate on earth, he already showed people how to do what he did. How to bring health to illness. How to bring light into darkness. How to bring truth to an empire of crushing power.

Maybe, instead of waiting on Jesus to work through some heavenly redemption, perhaps Jesus is waiting on us to work some earthly miracles.

During Jesus’ life, he was very clear about sharing his power with his disciples and apostles. He wanted them to be able to do the very things he did. To heal the sick. To cast out demons. To feed the hungry. To proclaim the Kingdom. To expand the ranks with new apostles of peace.

We wait with anticipation of the fulfilment of the Kingdom. In our waiting, we turn to prayer, often praying “Come, Lord Jesus, come,” which, truly, only Jesus can do. I wonder, though, are we praying for Jesus to do something he has already taught us how to do? If so, it’s time to shift our focus to one that will allow us to faithfully and actively celebrate this Advent season.

candles burning in darkness

I’d like to suggest the following three prayers this Advent:

Pray the Apostle’s Prayer. “Lord, increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5) When the apostles prayed this, they weren’t asking to have more faith in Jesus, but to have more of the faith of Jesus. Having that sort of faith is what it takes to do the things he did. And to go beyond it.

Pray the Prayer of St. Francis. I love this prayer because it instructs me in exactly how to be an apostle of peace, a force for good in the world.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy

O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
And it’s in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it’s in dying that we are born to Eternal Life

Amen

Pray “I believe; help Thou my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) I pray this prayer when I find myself wavering in my ability to be courageous in the face of evil, or hopeful in the face of darkness.

Praying these prayers will align your life, thoughts, actions, and soul with Jesus’ call to us: to be apostles of peace, healing, comfort, and Kingdom. These prayers can renew your journey through Advent, bringing new life to your time of waiting.

Interested in renewal after Advent? I invite you to join my upcoming workshop, Platinum Rule Leadership for Changing Times. This interactive workshop teaches self-awareness, forgiveness, compassion, understanding, and your ability to lead and love challenging people.

How My Faith Has Changed

by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 23, 2021

When I recently met with my bishop to relay an important shift in my theology, I wasn’t sure how she might react. Would I be brought up on charges? Given a good talking to? De-frocked? It was a chance I needed to take. I had to be true to myself and my evolving understanding of a life in Christ. I needed to tell her how my faith has changed.

It’s not the first time my faith has changed. Or the first such conversation I’d had with a religious leader.

As we sat down to meet over Zoom, I remembered another conversation that took place some thirty years earlier. At the time, I was a member of the Orthodox Jewish community. Jesus had recently appeared to me in an unexpected vision. His kind eyes had conveyed his unconditional love, acceptance, and understanding of me. The whole encounter lasted no more than thirty seconds. But that moment in time was seared into my cells. How little I understood of Him at the time! But it was enough to meet with my rabbi to tell him “My faith has changed. I need to follow this new path, even if it leads me out of the Jewish community.”

Which it did. Some six or seven years later, I was ordained into the United Methodist Church, and counted myself among the friends and followers of Jesus, which I write about in my book, The Jew Named Jesus.

So what necessitated this Zoom meeting with my bishop? It was the United Methodist mission statement, “We are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

I said to my bishop: “I used to believe that. But I don’t anymore. My faith has changed.”

I went on to share that I don’t think faith at the level of discipleship is what causes transformation in the world. That kind of faith is good for following, learning, and absorbing. But not for transforming the world. The faith of a disciple is not hardy enough or robust enough. Not in Jesus’ day. And not now.

I think transformation of the world requires more than following Jesus or believing in Jesus.

I say that because when you look at The Twelve, they didn’t accomplish much at first. They didn’t understand Jesus’ basic instructions, couldn’t follow what He was talking about, and didn’t get how He did what He did.

It wasn’t until The Twelve stepped into the apostolic mode that they could participate in the multiplication of loaves and fishes, heal the sick, cast out demons, or announce the kingdom. It was in that context that Peter dared to step out onto the water with Jesus.

What made the difference? I don’t think it’s so much that The Twelve believed in Jesus more. I think it’s that their faith changed. They not only believed in Jesus, but they also started to believe like Jesus. It seems to me that there is no way that the apostles could have done what Jesus did except to believe the kinds of things that Jesus believed.

I don’t believe Jesus was training His friends and followers in new techniques. Rather, it was a new consciousness. He taught them how to experience unity with God so they too could have access to the miraculous.

That’s what I mean by apostolic faith. The Twelve had a fundamental shift in consciousness. The kind of shift necessary to co-create miracles with God.

Here’s the bottom line. I think Jesus invites all of us to change our faith. To fully experience our inner divinity as well as our outward humanity.

This is what I think can bring about the transformation of the world. Because when we each tap into the deep reservoir of soul and spirit within us, anything is possible. Starting with our own transformation. Then leading out from there to the rest of the world around us.

So, that’s how my faith has changed. I’m for more faith. More unity with God. And more miracles. I’m glad I took the chance to share my changing beliefs. No, I didn’t get defrocked. Instead I got to engage in Christian conferencing and the sharing of ideas in a warm and respectful atmosphere.

Need help finding the confidence to take your chance? Join a Creating a Culture of Renewalcohort! You’ll learn communication and leadership skills to powerfully move your congregation forward while staying true to yourself. Visit https://rebekahsimonpeter.com/ccr-register for more information and to register.

Has the Mission of the Post-Pandemic Church Changed?

by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 16, 2021

So much has changed during the pandemic. How and when we worship. Who shows up in person and who doesn’t. All these changes lead to an important question: Has the mission of the post-pandemic church changed?

The problem with this topic is that there are two answers. Not only that, these two answers are diametrically opposed. First answer: no. Second answer: yes. Let’s dive into this conundrum, starting with the “no.”

As Christians, we take our marching orders from Jesus’ Great Commission. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

It’s pretty clear: we are to go far and wide to make disciples, baptize and pass on what we have learned from Jesus. This is a word-of-mouth endeavor, authorized by Jesus himself. In all the centuries since Matthew first wrote these words, these have been our marching orders. They have not changed.

What has changed, though, is how we make disciples. Because in light of the pandemic, and all the changes it has wrought, how we interpret the Great Commission has most definitely changed.

The Myth that Nothing Should Change

Now don’t get these changes confused with the eternity of God. Just because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forevermore, doesn’t mean that how we share the Gospel remains the same. It has to change with the times. In the early days of George Whitefield and John Wesley’s preaching, they took their message directly to colliers or coalminers to preach to folks in the open air. Today, people watch YouTube videos or Facebook Live for spiritual sustenance. In those days, Whitefield and Wesley gathered people in bands and classes to grow in covenantal Christian relationship. Today, we need to find new ways to touch and organize people so they too can grow in the knowledge and love of God.

It’s Not about Making Your Church Better

Today, many congregations live out disciple-making by focusing their efforts on strengthening their church and trying to attract people to it. In this model, a big, busy, active church equals disciple-making and is seen as the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission. I call this model the church improvement plan.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this model. In years past the church improvement plan of disciple-making worked well. Those years, however, were pretty well over even before the pandemic began. The steady decline of active participation in churches over the last five-seven decades points to that reality.

But because this model has been so ingrained in the culture of many congregations, it has been hard to let it go. Or to envision what is next. But if you don’t spend time discovering what is next, you will be neglecting new ways of implementing the Great Commission.

How Do We Make Disciples Post-Pandemic?

Let me share three ways to move forward with the post-pandemic mission of the church: Develop fresh expression, keep hybrid connections alive, and refresh your leadership.

Develop Fresh Expressions

Before the pandemic, church leaders had begun to recognize “Fresh Expressions” of mission as a viable way to disciple people. “Pub Theology” or “Bible and Beer” initiatives were popping up in many locations. This is an ancient/new practice of meeting people right where they are to deepen their spirituality and lead them into discipleship.

Different from mission trips to assist people in rebuilding their homes or communities—which are often seen as more charitable outreaches, and where the primary recipients of spiritual growth were the missioners—these Fresh Expressions are expressly about connecting with and discipling new people in unique ways, and through methods different than sanctuary-based worship or building-based Bible study.

Keep Hybrid Connections Alive

The Fresh Expressions movement has prepared us for the surprising and unexpected revelation of the pandemic: we don’t need buildings to be the church. Unlike Fresh Expressions, we found that we didn’t even need to be in the same room with each other to be in community. The use of technology through online worship, bible study, and prayer has brought people together across the miles, across the country, even across the world. Keep this hybrid option alive and well as you continue to journey forward.

We’ve done it too, in the Creating a Culture of Renewal community. We moved our three-day retreats online. We found that with thoughtful planning and creative execution, 30-50 participants at a time could worship and learn together and grow bonds of fellowship that allowed for vulnerability and transparency. Without getting too Zoom-numb or distracted. This online format also allowed us to introduce cohorts from different regions who never would have been able to meet otherwise. We connected people across state lines, regional boundaries, denominations, and leadership roles. Each of us from our living rooms, home offices, often surrounded by pets, children, and the accoutrements of home.

During the pandemic, people realized they could work from home, worship from anywhere in the world, and learn from unexpected sources about the world, God, and faith. Now that we know this, we aren’t likely to forget it. People will want more options going forward.

Refresh Your Leadership Skills

In these changing times, it’s important to refresh your leadership skills, learn new ways to navigate relationships, and up your emotional intelligence. Just as the world is changing, so must we. All so that we can adapt to meet people where they are now.

Next Steps

As you find new ways to reach people post-pandemic, keep in mind Fresh Expressions, hybrid forms of connection, and refreshing your own leadership skills.

Adapted from the upcoming book: Growing the Post-Pandemic Church: Rebuilding and Recreating Your Congregation (Market Square 2022).

Jesus Before Christmas

by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 4, 2021

Christmas wasn’t always part of the Christian experience. There’s no record that Jesus or his disciples or the early church celebrated Christmas at all, as they did all the Jewish holy days and holidays. In fact, the first Christmas or Christ Mass wasn’t celebrated until the 4th century. It’s likely Jesus wasn’t even born in the winter. Rather, it’s thought that December 25 was chosen as a day to celebrate his birth because it coincided with a pre-existing pagan festival. That would make it easy for non-Christians to add a new layer of meaning to their old celebrations. That happens in the history of religion.

The interesting thing though is that December 25 wasn’t just the date of a pagan festival. It also coincides, in a way, with a festival that Jesus did actually celebrate.

Like Jews of his time, Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication which occurs on the 25th of Kislev, a month in the Jewish calendar that most closely approximates December. “At that time,” the Gospel according to John relates, “the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem; it was winter. Jesus was walking in the Temple in the portico of Solomon. Tell us,” the Jews said, “if you are the Messiah.” Their comments were fitting, for the Feast of Dedication marked the last time a deliverer had arisen to save them from oppression. It was past time for another; the Roman experience was a cruel one indeed.

The Feast of Dedication commemorates the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its utter desecration at the brutal hands of Antiochus Epiphanes about 170 years BC. Today, that feast is known by its Hebrew name, Chanukah. Although Chanukah only gets a line or two in the New Testament, it actually plays a huge role in the birth of Jesus.

A Peek into History

To explain, we have to go back in history over three hundred years before the birth of Christ. Alexander the Great ruled the ancient world around the Eastern Mediterranean. After conquering the Persian Empire, Greek culture, or Hellenism, spread like wildfire. The Jews living in Israel quickly found themselves surrounded by it and then almost swallowed up by it. Hellenism was to the ancient world what Western culture is to the modern world. Just as you can find a McDonald’s in just about every corner of the world, not to mention American pop music, blue jeans, TV re-runs, Western style Christianity, and the English language, so in that day, you could find Greek culture, religion, and language permeating every other culture of the world. Needless to say, it wasn’t all good, especially for those in the minority, like the Jews. It put their whole distinctive way of life at risk.

After Alexander died, his empire eventually fell into the hands of one Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Epiphanes means “face of God,” but a more apt description was the moniker the Jews gave him: “Epimanes” or “crazy man.” He was the Hitler of the intertestamental period. Like Hitler, he was obsessed with wiping out the Jewish people. He began with the slaughter of the citizens of Jerusalem and the desecration of the Temple. Alfred Edersheim explains what happened in his book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah:

“All sacrifices, the service of the Temple, and the observance of the Sabbath and of feast days were prohibited; the Temple at Jerusalem was dedicated to Jupiter Olympus (a Greek god); the Torah was searched for and destroyed; the Jews forced to take part in heathen rites; in short, every insult was heaped on the religion of the Jews, and its every trace was to be swept away.”

Bottom line: Antiochus was bent on genocide. The final straw was the slaughter of a pig on the sacrificial altar in the Temple. Definitely not kosher. This occurred on the 25th of Kislev, the month that generally corresponds to our December.

A Jewish deliverer rose up whose name was Mattathias. Even though they were outnumbered and overpowered, under his leadership the Jewish people began a campaign of guerilla warfare against Antiochus and his Syrian armies to reclaim the Temple. Mattathias died fighting, but his five sons carried on, including one whose name you might know: Judah Maccabee. He led the fighting till the Temple could be purified and its services restored.

Christmas without Chanukah

Exactly three years after its desecration, the Temple was rededicated. This took place on the 25th of Kislev, about 165 years before the nativity of Christ. If Antiochus had carried out his plan, there would have been no Mary, no Joseph, and no Jesus. There would have been no Messiah of Israel, no Savior of the World. Bottom line: without Chanukah, there would be no Christmas. Jesus owed his life to Chanukah. In a sense, we owe our faith to it.

As you prepare for Advent, let us remember the minor Jewish holiday that celebrates freedom of religion and which makes possible the major Christian one. Let’s do like Jesus did and re-dedicate ourselves to freedom of religious expression, to the freedom to dedicate ourselves to God, and to truly love one another.

That being said, I’m hosting a fun and interactive workshop that will help you do just that. “Platinum Rule Leadership in Changing Times” promotes forgiveness, compassion, understanding, and self-awareness. I hope you can join me.

Adapted from Christmas through Jewish Eyes, by Rebekah Simon-Peter.

Six Steps to Getting Your Church Past Polarization

by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 2, 2021

At a time when polarization seems to be at an all-time high, most churches are not able to bridge the gap. Instead, they are caught up in divisiveness, too. This polarization limits the church’s ability to lead or to distinguish itself as a spiritual institution. That’s why I want to share six steps to getting your church past polarization.

These six steps are important to take. In some ways, churches now resemble the US House of Representatives more than the house of prayer that Jesus envisioned. It’s not that your church shouldn’t wrestle with important issues. By all means, it should.

But when the voice of the church is framed more by politics than ethics, or by who it stands against instead of the love of God that embraces all, this is bad news for your church and the community you serve.

The Lure of Polarization

We know we are supposed to love God, love others, and love ourselves. We know we are supposed to turn the other cheek and do good to those who hate us. Yet we find that hard to do with fellow church folk, let alone the people “out there.”

Unconditional love is hard to muster when news headlines play on fear, outrage, and worst-case scenarios. Or when social media feeds reinforce your perspective on the world. It takes true effort to get past these views of the world and believe that something else is even possible.

When churches try to speak to issues like the pandemic, immigration, or even school shootings from a political perspective, they get caught in either/or choices popularized by right- and left-wing media. This creates a lose-lose situation with no room for nuanced disagreement. Either/or choices are destined to polarize, and to pit people against each other.

I’d like to offer an alternative for getting your church past polarization. It comes from prioritizing ethics over politics.

ethics over politics

Prioritize Ethics Over Politics

I suggest this 6-step process for ethical thinking. It’s not perfect or complete, but it will give you a starting point. United Methodists will recognize elements of the process as it engages the Wesleyan quadrilateral, the four sources by which we live out their faith.

Step 1 When it comes to thinking ethically, the first and most important step is to get the facts. That means looking beyond Facebook memes and polarizing talking heads. It means digging deeper to find out what’s really going on. “Some moral issues create controversies simply because we do not bother to check the facts,” observe the authors of Thinking Ethically.

Step 2. Turn to the scriptures. Discover the biblical stories or principles that might apply. This means thinking deeply and widely about meta messages of the Bible. Resist the temptation to pluck one or two scriptures out of context that seem to fit the situation. Many of the ethical dilemmas we face today were never mentioned in scripture. Similarly, the scriptures themselves were written over centuries in response to situations that are far from our post-modern context.

Step 3 Look to other commentaries or sources of your faith. United Methodist will want to consult the Book of Discipline, the Social Principles, and the Book of Resolutions to see how other informed persons of faith have approached these issues.

Step 4 Look at the history of the issue. How has it been dealt with in the past? What has worked? What hasn’t? As thinking persons of faith, we engage our faculties of reason.

Step 5 Engage in prayer. A word of caution here. I wouldn’t necessarily ask for specific answers to your specific questions; this prayer may lead to confusing our own solutions with God’s divine guidance. Rather, I suggest praying for guidance and wisdom as you discern together.

Step 6 Engage in respectful, patient discussion about the resources at hand. To do so, first decide on ground rules and boundaries, so that your discussions don’t become polarized or violent. At this point, don’t try to come to final solutions or absolute positions. Rather, keep an open mind. Keep prayer present even in the discussion. Over time, discuss possible ethics-based approaches to addressing the problem at hand.

Don’t worry if you don’t all come to the same conclusion. You probably won’t. That’s okay. Here’s what you will have done: you will have thought faithfully and ethically about the issues at hand. This ethics-based process creates trust, loosens polarization, and increases your skill at diving deep as a community of faith. It might even get you loving one another, differences and all.

In Creating a Culture of Renewal®, we empower church leaders to bring out the best in those who frustrate them the most. Not an easy task. But it is doable.

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