ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Epiphany
Teflon and Velcro: An Update on my Gratitude Experiment
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8
Hello UBCers (and others who still read this newsletter and my entries (God bless you for this special kind of sacrifice)),
I’d like to kick off 2020 with an update on my last post from 2019. In that post I talked about an intentional approach to slowing down time. The way I plan to slow down time is by being present and the way I plan on being present is by being grateful.
So here is a dispatch from my experiment - a pair of brief anecdotes from last week: #1) Thursday. I go to the World Cup Cafe for lunch with my friends. We sit down and in the booth behind us my neighbor and his lunch date. My neighbor is the director of Mission Waco, which is the parent organization of WCC. Because I’m feeling extra gregarious and because my neighbor and I have a pretty amicable relationship, I told our server that our bill would be covered by the guy in the booth next to us. She looked over at the booth, identified my neighbor, and immediately made the connection and got in on the joke. She took our orders and walked over to inform him of the decision. He looked up, we made eye contact and laughed. This kind of throw away humor is gold once you make it past 35 years old. It’s the kind of stuff that enneagram 3s live for. My friends and I had a long lunch. By the time we were finished the place had cleared. We were knocking on the door of 2:00 PM CST. When we arrived at the cash register, the sales clerk informed us that our lunch was paid for.
Neighbor and I had this text exchange:
#2) My registration sticker for my minivan is out of date. The last good month was December. As you now know the process requires you to get your car inspected and then go to the government agency for motor vehicles to get your sticker. So on that same day last week, after my Great Clips haircut, I pulled across the street to Kwicker Sticker. The guy asks for my insurance and pulls my car into the inspection space. He’s gone for what seems to be an ominous length of time.. Finally he comes into the waiting room. “OK, I’m ready to see you.” This is different than, “You’re all ready,” which communicates “you passed.” Kwicker Sticker Guy, hereafter KSG, reluctantly informs me that I will not pass. He apologises and quickly tells me that he will not fail me or charge me, but can’t for the sake of integrity pass me. He then proceeds to show me why. My power steering hose is leaking fluid. KSG must have extensive mechanical knowledge because he also shows me exactly what’s wrong, how to fix it and then invites me over to his computer to help me look up where to buy the part as cheaply as possible. Then he says, “If you want, you could go to another inspection site. Just add some power steering fluid and they’ll pass you. That way if you can’t fix it until this summer or something, you can still get your car registered. Again, I apologize, for the sake of integrity I can't pass your car.” It’s now clear to me what he means by “not failing me.” The state car tracking system shows all my appointments at these places. By not registering my failure he has given me the option to go elsewhere and use the work around. At the end of our appointment - after the advice, help and generous treatment - I insist on paying for my inspection even though I didn’t pass (this is the law BTW). But again KSG refuses my money. I know this routine enough not to fight it. I offer my gratitude one more time and drive away.
What I have learned so far is that these small graces are frequent. More so than we might realize. On average, I haven’t had more of these moments in 2K20 than I did last year. So what has paying attention taught me?
A few years ago Rob Bell hosted Richard Rohr on his podcast. The theme was, “Embracing Alternative Orthodoxy.” There were 7 points. I can’t name them for you. What I do remember was Rohr making this point: good thoughts are like teflon and bad thoughts are like velcro. That probably doesn’t need explanation, but allow me. Negative comments, thoughts and experiences implant on the brain (something about evolution and survival). Good thoughts, experiences, and comments are like teflon, they don’t stick at all. So this is my big revelation in my experiment: you have to meditate on and appreciate the good things. Rohr says that we have to actively think about a good thing for 15 seconds before it actually registers.
So on thursday evening last week, I did just that. I thought about the food I ordered, how good it was, my friends and our delightful conversation and then my neighbor. That was a free experience. Then I thought about KSG, what motivated him to help me and his refusal to accept my money. I thanked God for both of them.
Eager to see what happens tomorrow.
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Meet Our New Youth Pastor
As you all know, the mighty and valiant Dilan Braddock left us for more money and a real job. As such we have been pleading with the Lord to send us a replacement (as if Dilan could ever be replaced (disgusted gif)). Lo, an angel of the Lord appeared to us and said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, I have for you a new youth pastor, and he is British.” There was much rejoicing. Here’s a few details on our new guy.
Name: Kieran Frank Cressy (Yes, that makes my initials KFC. Yes, my parents realised that. No, they didn’t care.)
What are you doing in Waco: I moved here in May 2019 from England, to marry my beloved wife!
Favorite Waco Restaurant?: Lula Janes, or Lolita’s.
Bible verse, chapter or book that has been meaningful for you?: I really love the Old Testament, but one book in particular that I’ve found great meaning in is the Book of Job. The way in which Job talks to God is oddly reassuring - we learn that it’s okay to be angry, confused, and, crucially, that it’s okay to voice those fears and frustrations with God. He doesn’t just want our fair-weather, peak moments - he wants our brokenness and our hurt too.
TV Show: Very hard. Here’s a few that have been fundamental for me: Lost, The West Wing, The Newsroom, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Movies: Also very hard, so here’s another list: Interstellar, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars, Into the Spider-verse, How To Train Your Dragon.
Something We’d never know about you?: The first time I travelled without my parents was aged 18, with my friend Jake, and we went backpacking and wild camping around Norway for 2 weeks.
Town Hall
Our quarterly town hall will take place after church this Sunday. I anticipate that it will last about 1 hour.
25 on the 26
UBC turns 25 in January. To celebrate this remarkable moment and as a nod to God’s faithfulness we will have a festive 90s themed party with pizza, trivia and other extraordinary things on January 26th after church.
An Evening With C.S. Lewis (March 18th, 7PM)
On Wednesday, March 18th, our friends at the Hippodrome are putting up a production of An Evening With C.S. Lewis, a one-man show about the life and work of…..C.S. Lewis. Lewis has, at one time or another, influenced many in our community through his intellectual honesty and compelling storytelling, offering a path toward asking questions of faith and wonder. Anyway, whether or not you can look back on C.S. Lewis as a welcome influence in your faith development, this play is probably the closest you’ll ever get to seeing him on a stage. You can use the code “BRITISH” at checkout for a 50% discount, or if you’re a student, you can use the code “STUDENT” at checkout for an even bigger discount (be sure to bring your student ID to the show).
Tickets are available here: https://bit.ly/382YBQL
Spring Sunday School
Begins on January 26th. More information on the following classes will be published in our Jan 21st newsletter:
Harry Potter and the Sacred Text
Daniel on Daniel
Inspired by Rachel Held Evans
Parishioner of the Week
Ron Miller, for doing mugs like a baller.
Work is Worship
Greeters: Richardson
Coffee Makers: Jessica Washington
Mug Cleaners: Sarah Cooley
Money Counter: JD Newman
Announcements
Sermon Text: John 1:38-45/Psalm 40
1-19 Quarterly Town Hall
1-26 “25 on the 26” UBC’s birthday extravaganza
1-26 Spring Sunday school Begins
2-9 (week of) Mi Casa’s Resume
Youth Schedule
January 15 - First Youth
January 17-19 - Mid Winter Retreat
January 26 - Sunday School Starts
February 29 - Leap Year Celebration (Movie/Game Night)
March 11 - NO YOUTH (Spring Break)
March 27 - TBD (Talent Show?)
April 19 - 5/6 Family Game Night
April 26 - After Church Picnic
May 13 - Last Youth
Leadership Team
If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.
Chair: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com